Coffee with Mike – What Makes Someone Credible?

I think it's odd that the most successful coach in American football, who is…?

- Bill Belichick- 

Bill Belichick never played professional football.  

-didn't he play in Navy or something? 

I think he played college. I think it was very small college. But you go back and look at some of these coaches, and some of them never played college. They were the ball boy, or they were the trainer, or they were assistant. They were always staff, but they never actually played. Are these people who've never played it, never had the success, doesn't know what it feels like to be on the field and be hit like that, or to run like that, or to throw like that. I mean how is it that they can coach people who can do those things? Why are they credible? Why is Belichick credible having never played the game? Well now because he's won six championships that makes him pretty credible, right? 

It makes him pretty incredible, really, and so the thing that we're talking about here is, what experience does your advisor have to have in order for you to feel like they’re credible? Does it have to be that they have achieved some sort of success that you perceive to be worthy of your time, your effort, your energy, and your money? Or is it just that they understand you. They know what motivates you. They know they understand what you want. They understand what you've tried to do to get there, they understand your frustrations as well as your dreams, they understand your limitations as well as your skill set. They understand what you’re looking for from your advisor. It's important I think so I can go into this a little bit more.

I will never forget, I drove up to the window at a workplace for somebody. That person greeted me when I walked into her office, and she sat down, we chatted for like two minutes and she just looked at me and said,  

“I'm sorry, I can't work with you.”

“Why can't you work with me?” 

“Well you parked right in front my window. You drive a Honda. I drive a Mercedes. I can't work with you.” 

“Why is that, I don’t understand.” 

“Well you haven’t achieved the same success I have, why would I take advice from you?” 

Well that was a shocker. That was hurtful, but it made me think about what makes me credible. What makes me credible, you know, if I can't work with a guy that has $10 million if don’t I don't have $10 million? Or I won't work with a person who doesn't have what I have? I don't think that's my criteria, that's not what I'm hoping your criteria is. What I'm hoping your criteria is, does that advisor understand me?  Does that advisor really know what I have? Really understand my benefits? Really understand my concerns, really understand my limitations? Does this person really know? That, I think, should be the criteria and they really have solutions. It makes sense to me that they really have my best interests.

So, what makes someone credible? Bill Belichick has six Super Bowl rings, like you said. I think he's been to 9 right? I think he won two with the Giants. He’s been with the NE Patriots since 1996 when they lost the Packers, so he's been to maybe 11 Super Bowls. Six of 'em on his own and then two more as a defensive coordinator. I was saying he's credible. What makes him credible? He understands his players, he understands the game, he understands his players. It doesn't matter if you never played the game. I think it's important to keep in mind.