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This can be a particular episode of The CEO Sequence for me as a result of we took a visit to Notre Dame Stadium the place I performed soccer as a walk-on alongside my brother throughout the undefeated season of 2012. We went to my outdated stomping grounds to take a seat down with head coach Marcus Freeman to speak about management and the way, in some ways, he’s the CEO of their unimaginable program.

Beneath are some highlights of that dialog, which have been edited for size and readability. Watch the total video above.

The coach as CEO

“A CEO is in command of a giant firm, and my firm occurs to be Notre Dame soccer. On the finish of the day, you are answerable for each determination that impacts the individuals in this system and the outcomes which can be on the sphere. So you do not make each determination, however you are answerable for each determination. That is essential to be sure to perceive. All through my teaching profession, the best satisfaction got here from seeing the gamers you have been concerned with have success.”

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The celebration video that went viral after he was employed as head coach

“It was a blur. However I bear in mind strolling out of that door and seeing the group going loopy — all I wished to do was hug them. It wasn’t a few speech. It was an opportunity to have fun and be along with your guys, proper? I inform all of them the time: I am a teammate. I is likely to be the captain, however I am a teammate. I perceive the belongings you’re going by. I am on this struggle with you. And I feel they respect that and so they perceive that. Strolling out that door is a second I am going to always remember and one I am going to cherish without end.”

The that means of his mantra “Select Exhausting”

“It began a few years in the past once I was within the Notre Dame weight room and was figuring out as our gamers have been being pushed onerous. And I bear in mind considering that you could select to undergo the motions or you’ll be able to select to go as onerous as you’ll be able to. And that is once I got here up with this considered ‘Select Exhausting.’ We put up an indication you see while you stroll into this constructing that claims ‘Select Exhausting.’ As a result of while you stroll into Notre Dame soccer, you have to have that mindset. We will select onerous in the present day in follow, select onerous in the present day in conferences, select onerous in the present day within the weight room. And for the gamers, you are going to be challenged within the classroom, proper? You are going to be in school with a number of the most clever individuals on this world. And it is troublesome, however in the end you’ve got chosen to return right here so select onerous, settle for it, and know that the rewards from selecting onerous each single day cannot be discovered wherever else.”

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Downside-solving philosophy

“When a group is not profitable, lots of people say, belief the method. My mantra is: repair the method. I spend a whole lot of time evaluating all the pieces we have been doing. Why aren’t we enjoying higher? What are we doing schematically? Is there one thing our gamers do not perceive? Losses occur and it is part of life. However they damage. As a frontrunner, you do not need to have too many. Repair it with urgency.”

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Retaining gamers within the age of the switch portal

“Look, for those who’re the CEO of an organization, you bought to pay your staff, proper? Now if they’ll go elsewhere and make much more cash, it doesn’t matter what kind of firm you are operating, they will in all probability go away. So now we have to guarantee that our gamers can maximize the alternatives of identify, picture and likeness. That is essential, however what else retains them at Notre Dame? What else attracts them right here? And you have to consider it is your tradition. You have to consider it is the way in which they’re handled. Do they take pleasure in being a part of your program? That is so essential. And that is a message for myself and our different coaches. Let’s guarantee that as onerous as we push them, as demanding as we’re, we aren’t demeaning. We wish them to take pleasure in being part of this group and the entire alternatives that the College of Notre Dame gives.”

Try extra profiles of modern and impactful leaders by visiting The CEO Sequence archives.