Texas A&M Head Coach Buzz Williams Writes 180 Thank You Notes Every Single Month
On today's Pardon My Take... BUZZ WILLIAMS! The Head Coach of the Texas A&M Aggies joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter in studio ahead of the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden to discuss what it was like to be on the wrong side of this year's bubble, his "red pill vs. blue pill" speech, the motivation level to playing in the NIT, and much more.
As everybody knows, there is a lot more to coaching than just practices and games. Relationships and recruiting are two of the things that help build up a college basketball program, and the way Coach Williams helps build relationships is very unique, to say the least. Take a look:
Buzz Williams: If you looked at my calendar right now, this is my 15th year as a head coach, that daily discipline is: write, call, email, text. So, if you looked at my calendar, there's nine disciplines per day that I do. I'm going to have a quiet time for one hour every morning. I'm going to read one book a week.
Reading one book a week is very impressive. Coach Williams then went on to explain how there are 120 names on the back of his calendar - 60 are for him to learn from, 30 are specific to Texas A&M, and then there are another 30 who are connected to basketball. That list rotates by 10% each month, and those 120 people are then given a handwritten note from Coach Williams.
Buzz Williams: So, I write 120 people - 60 are to develop a relationship with, 30 are people, that in essence, I work for, and 30 are connected to the game of basketball, regardless of where I'm employed. That's 120, and then I write two thank you notes every single day, so, that's 180 notes that I write every month.
I mean, wow! Talk about dedication and attention to detail. This is a crazy, yet very impressive formula that Coach Williams has set in stone. Mr. Cat then gave his reaction to this routine by the Aggies Head Coach…
Mr. Cat: Now, don't take this the wrong way, but you're crazy.
Buzz Williams: Yes sir, I have a lot of problems.
Mr. Cat: You saying that out loud, and I mean that in a good way, because you're doing crazy for good. Like, it's incredible what you're doing, even talking about reaching out to random people, that's awesome. We need more of that in the world. But you are crazy.
Buzz Williams: Well, it's like the red pill thought, it's just accepting of that. And our players say the same thing, "Coach, you got a lot of problems." Yes sir, I understood that, "But I told you that when I was recruiting you."
Mr. Cat: Yeah, he's using your problems for good, too.
Buzz Williams: Yeah, that's right.
Mr. Cat: We've harnessed your power in a hyper-focused way, where you're just a note-writing machine.
Buzz Williams: great basketball coach, but clearly, an even better man. No matter how good or bad his team may be doing, one thing is for sure - his community is getting better by having him in it.