Book update from a professional intellectual…and another lesson learned

It was 11:50 in the morning, and I was sitting in my home office anxiously awaiting noon, when my phone call was scheduled with Austin, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated.  I went downstairs to my kitchen to pour another cup of caffeine, and when I returned to my computer, I noticed I had a new e-mail from Austin. 

Before even opening the e-mail, I knew that it could only mean one thing: Austin would be unable to talk with me.  While he seemed excited for the call when we scheduled it, the reality is that he is a big-shot sports writer who had far more important things to do than to talk with me.  I was sure his e-mail message would briefly explain why he could not make our call, and probably offer to hold the conversation at a future time that would never materialize.

I opened the email, and sure enough…Austin was cancelling on me.  His editor had called him that morning and asked him to do an obituary on freestyle skiing pioneer Sarah Burke, who died after a horrific practice crash.  I could not blame Austin for cancelling on me, after all the obituary was far more important than…but wait, what did he just write?  “I got a call…asking for an obit…can you give me until 12:30 or 1?”  Austin was not cancelling our call; he was simply delaying it for a short time.

What really struck me was the phrase, “can you give me until 12:30 or 1?”  It was as if Austin was asking my permission to delay the call, as if it were my decision.  We both knew that my answer was not going to be, “No, Austin, you must talk to me NOW instead of writing another article for Sports Illustrated.”  But, he at least gave me the chance to make the decision.

He could have simply said, “I got a call…asking for an obit…and I need to delay our call for an hour…talk to you then.”  I would not have faulted him if he had said that, and in fact would have still been delighted that our call was simply delayed and not cancelled altogether.  However, he treated me with a great deal of respect by phrasing the dilemma as a choice that I now controlled, and I felt honored.

Why am I writing about this?  Because treating people with that type of respect is a key way to draw people toward you.  I will beat down brick walls to aid those who treat me with that kind of respect, and I imagine many of you would as well.

After receiving that e-mail from Austin, I reflected back on my own actions in this area.  Over winter break, a former student named Peter asked if he could meet me for a couple of beers and just catch-up.  We originally planned to meet on a Thursday, but then I realized I had previously scheduled another meeting for that night.  I e-mailed Peter and said, “I am sorry, but I did not realize I already had made other plans for Thursday night.  Would you be willing to switch our meeting to Wednesday night?”

Actually, that is what I should have said, but what I actually said was, “I am sorry, I actually cannot make Thursday work, can we do Wednesday instead?”  Although the difference may seem somewhat subtle, the way that I phrased things did not request his permission to reschedule, it instead stated that I would need to reschedule.  Of course Peter would have been willing to reschedule had I asked for his permission, but I did not give him the opportunity to do so - I did not show him the same kind of respect that Austin showed me.

So, thank you, Austin.  Not only for the encouraging words and advice about my book, not only for the connection to your agent, but also for the valuable lesson that you taught me.

Book Update

Without knowing it, I have been working on this project for the past twenty years.  However, I consider this week the official kickoff, as the beginning of the spring semester means that both John and I are regularly back on campus.

So, how much time did I spend this week with John?  None.  Whenever I walked by his office, he was either busy or not there.  However, it was a satisfying week nonetheless for three main reasons.

First, I have started to regularly talk very openly about the project, which is enabling me to practice making some of my points about the keys to John’s legacy.  Talking about this project is also causing me to receive great questions from potential readers of the book.

Second, I talked with two of John’s assistant coaches this week to get their initial thoughts on how John has created such a strong legacy.  One trait that is constantly repeated is John’s uncanny ability to draw people to him through his exceptional listening skills and genuine interest in other people.  A portion of my book will certainly explore those skills in further detail.

Third, I have a short list of authors and reporters with whom I hope to visit throughout this project.  On Friday, I connected with one of those people: Austin Murphy, senior writer at Sports Illustrated.   In the fall of 1999, Austin took a sabbatical from SI and moved his family from the San Francisco area to St. John’s.  The Sweet Season is the book that Austin produced as a result of the sabbatical. A certain amount of the book focused on John and St. John’s football.

I re-read The Sweet Season while resting on the beaches of Tulum, Mexico a couple weeks ago and immediately reached out to Austin to see if he would be willing to chat.  We connected on Friday and he gave me some great advice for my book.  He likes the idea behind the book and indicated that it has the potential to appeal to a wide audience.  He seemed to like the angle of the book, as he received some criticism that his own book did not analyze John’s success in nearly enough depth.

Austin far exceeded my expectations when we discussed agents and publishers.  He ended up giving me the contact information for his agent, and encouraged me to use his name when I contact the agent.  This agent also happens to be the agent for Mitch Albom.  Mitch is the author of several best selling books, including my personal favorite and best-selling memoir of all time: Tuesday’s With Morrie, which has partly inspired my project.

Overall, it was a very uplifting conversation with Austin and he has given me more confidence to have lofty goals for my book.  I did not know what to expect from Austin as a person, but he seems quite genuine and has fantastic listening skills.  He would let me talk for a couple minutes at a time without interrupting me, almost to the point that I wondered if he was still on the line.  I suspect that this gift of listening has made him a successful sports writer.  Throughout my project, I am going to listen to John the way that Austin listened to me.

I will wrap-up today with a comment of Austin’s that is sure to amuse those of you who know me well.  At one point, Austin asked me if I write much, and then quickly answered his own question by saying, “Well, of course you write. You are a professor and thus a professional intellectual.”  I did not have the heart to tell him what most of my readers are thinking:  Professor Boz…a professional intellectual?  Now, that is a good one.