The Gap Between Good and Great Isn't Technical

Released May 14, 2026 Episode 233 Fourteen years working with NBA players teaches you something most leadership books miss: the gap between good and great is almost never technical. It's psychological. This week I sit down with Tom Mitchell — 40+ years coaching elite athletes and business leaders, co-author of an Amazon bestseller with Joe Montana, and author of the new book Embrace Your Inner Coach. Tom's central argument is deceptively simple: the gap between good and great is almost never technical. It's psychological. And the tools that work in a locker room work just as well in a boardroom. Three things to take from this conversation 1. Clarity, the burn, and visualisation — the three pillars of high performance Elite athletes know exactly where they're going, have an almost visceral hunger to get there, and train their minds to inhabit the goal before it's real. Most executives have at least one of these. Very few have all three. Tom's coaching, in both worlds, starts here. 2. Coaching isn't fixing Tom is refreshingly honest about the limits of his role. He could help a benched player process the frustration, sharpen their game, and come back stronger. What he couldn't do — and wouldn't — was lobby the coach for their minutes. If you lead people, this distinction matters enormously. 3. Journaling is taking a photograph of yourself Tom has kept journals for over 40 years. He doesn't frame it as a discipline or a ritual — just an occasional record of where you are, what you're thinking, what you're hoping for. For busy executives, that kind of reflective snapshot is often the missing link between activity and actual growth. Tom's book Embrace Your Inner Coach is available on Amazon. Find him at www.tommitchell.com.