Brady’s hook

In the 2000 NFL draft Tom Brady was picked in the 6th round by the New England Patriots.

It was clear how the scouts rated his potential. They picked 198 other players before him.

So Brady packs his bags and heads to the Patriots headquarters.

When he arrives he introduces himself to the Patriots’ owner Bob Kraft.

Brady thanked Kraft for the opportunity and, according to Kraft, followed up with…

“I’ll never forget it. He looked me like a laser eye to eye and said I’m the best decision this organization has ever made”

Before the conversation the Patriots would’ve had ‘6th round draft pick’ expectations for Brady such as being one of the worst performers in training or contributing the least in team meetings.

But the conversation changed all of that.

The ‘best decision this organisation has ever made’ has to be the star performer in all areas. There’s no room for hiding with that tagline.

By anointing himself the ‘best decision this organization has ever made’ he gave himself an extremely ambitious goal and made himself accountable to the man in control of his livelihood.

He had put himself on the hook and into the spotlight.

You can be certain Kraft knew who he was after that announcement.

I think this conversation contributed massively to Brady’s success (if you didn’t know Brady became the best quarterback the NFL has ever seen, fulfilling this promise along the way by winning 6 SuperBowls for the Patriots).

By putting himself into the spotlight like this I think Brady forced himself out of his comfort zone to achieve or suffer the humiliation.

I think the accountability amplified the fear of failure and added fuel to his motivation.

The more people that know your goal, the more people can remind you didn’t achieve it.

You can watch the film the NFL made about Tom Brady’s draft story at the YouTube clip below. I would highly recommend it, it’s a great story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5fdhfVrg1I&t