Jack Easterby on Decision Making

Jack Easterby is a respected figure in sports management and leadership. Currently, he is a consultant based out of Charlotte, NC.  Throughout his career, Easterby has contributed to various organizations, including the National Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots, the Houston Texans, the Southeastern Conference, the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and the United States Olympic Teams. He has also been involved in head coaching searches for different sports at universities. Most recently he held the title of Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Texans.  Easterby is known as a trusted advisor to players and coaches and has experience as a speaker at universities, graduations, and charity events. Apart from his professional life, Jack Easterby is a family man, married to Holly, and has two daughters, Houston and Harriet. He is also passionate about his community and has established The Greatest Champion Foundation, focusing on curriculums, team-building strategies, and sports ministries nationwide. His approach to leadership emphasizes "Kingdom Ethics," incorporating faith into different aspects of life, leaving an impact on sports and leadership ethics.   Jack had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Sports franchises have evolutions” (8:10). “Every franchise is not going to evolve at the same rate” (8:35). “No organization is one thing away” (9:10). “We’ve got to be able to create a culture where everything is examined; everything matters” (9:30). “Any good system, any good program, has evaluated all of the downsides. Evaluate the risk” (12:45). “There’s a lot of fake deadlines out there now where people feel the need to answer things or do things in an expedient fashion where maybe they could delay a little bit and make time for themselves to get all of the facts on the table” (15:40). “People feel a need for speed, and that’s not always a good thing” (16:50). “If you want the empathy of those around you, if you want the empathy to be pervading emotion if you will, I think you need to be able to admit you mess up” (19:45). “Sometimes a leader has to fall on a sword even though it may not be directly their fault” (21:50). “One of the things that is absolutely cornerstone to good leadership is creating emotional stability in your group” (24:55). “I have always looked at organizations as a team of teams” (31:45). “It all matters” (32:50). “Anyone in leadership can fall prey to mantras and phrases that have emptiness in them” (36:35). “When I’ve looked back on the really good decisions I’ve made, they’ve been the ones I’ve vetted on every level” (39:10). “The best decisions are made with multi-factorial inputs” (44:55). “Sometimes a step forward is a step back” (49:00). “Most organizations right now are realizing the need for a comprehensive database” (57:15). “There is no greater action in the current climate, with sports or with business, than creating a unified database” (58:05). “Our country in general is in the greatest need in the history of our country of high character people to be in leadership” (1:02:55). “The most sustainable, long-term attribute of great leaders is they have consistent character” (1:04:05). “We have to think about what we think about” (1:15:30).   Additionally, you can follow Jack on Twitter and find The Greatest Champion Website here. Thank you so much to Jack for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.