The Best $90 I Ever Spent
If you have lived in the last 50 years and paid any attention to college football you probably know that in the state of Alabama, football is one of those things that is considered to be a religion. Sundays are days where people go to church and in autumn, most people spend their Sundays recapping and recounting the events of the Alabama Football game the day before. The history of the University of Alabama with George Wallace blocking the school house door is only rivaled in the hearts and minds of Alabamians with some of the greatest players that have ever been on the UA Football Teams. t is safe to say, unless you live in a cave – you are familiar with what the sport of football means to the people of Alabama.
While boarding a flight for Dallas a couple of Mondays ago, I had the chance to upgrade my seat to first class for $90. I wasn’t checking any bags and wasn’t getting docked with any bag fees. It was a early evening flight that would put me in Dallas after 8pm, just in time to have to eat a late meal, so I thought – why not, I will be able to relax more and work while traveling. While standing in line to get on the plane – I noticed an older gentleman coming from the right and I motioned him to go in front of me. It took a few seconds for me to realize that this man was none other than Coach Gene Stallings. I thought, “that’s cool – I am on the same plane with Gene Stallings, hell we’re even sitting in first class together!” As we walk on to the plane I noticed that Gene walked down and sat in the seat right next to mine and I thought, wow what a lucky day. As I sat down next to him I introduced myself and we began to talk a little about what each other were doing – (basically why we were traveling to Dallas).
Coach Stallings could tell I was obviously eager to converse, and as we talked there were some very unique things discussed. Coach Stallings had been in Birmingham (he currently lives in Paris, Texas – about 150 miles Northeast of Dallas) giving a speech to a Quarterback Club. When I asked him about what he thought about the salaries that some coaches earned, he chuckled and said it was embarrassing. You see, what Coach Stallings went on to elaborate was he never got into coaching for the money. He said the schools and teams like the Dallas Cowboys (whom he was an assistant under Tom Landry), always told him what they were going to pay him and that was good enough for him. He had no complaints about money but said for what people are getting paid vs. what they are achieving is not a solid value. That money should be put towards the University and the education of students. Since he’s from Dallas, I went on to ask him what he thought of the new Cowboys stadium. You know, the one that has the ‘largest and greatest picture video screen’ in the world. He said these pro stadiums have gotten ridiculous, owners tell the cities they have to have these new monstrosities in order to attract fans and bring in more revenue for the cities – however the owners do not share any of the revenues from the VIP suite sales which in most cases are from $50,000 to $100,000 or more a year. Multiply that times 100 suites and you see why each professional team owner wants a larger stadium. Coach Stallings also talked about recruiting and finding talent. He put together the greatest team Alabama has had in the last 30 years – the 1992 team that won the national championship at the Sugar Bowl when they clobbered a bigger / faster and what appeared to be a better Miami Hurricanes team. Stallings talked about how his team was not only filled with talented people, but they had leaders too. There were no egos too big to admit mistakes and everyone on the team knew they could be better everyday. He said there were not a lot of top rated high school recruits on that team (there were definitely some), but he said they were a group of people that just knew how to play football.
The Coach went on to ask me about my business and how the economy has affected it and I told him. We talked about what it takes today to run a business like an advertising agency, and where the future of the automotive market is heading. Coach Stallings wasn’t much for vanity and vehicles – he said his pickup truck was great, it worked well on his cattle ranch and unless it broke he didn’t plan on getting another one. There was never any mention into what brand, but you could tell he liked it. He told me he didn’t know enough about advertising to give me much advice other than, people generally believe what they see and hear on TV and that as long as a man doesn’t spend more on himself than he makes, he is going to turn out fine. As the flight went on, Coach Stallings and I talked more and more about football and people. It seemed that the two were going hand-in-hand, and towards the end of the flight his points were made very clear. Coach Stallings was not a very complicated person, he didn’t use text messages or computers – he asked that everything be sent to him via phone call or fax. He relied on people to help him – from the people he had teach him, to the people that he went on to teach – he was a fan and admirer of people. The end of our conversation turned back to the basics. I never asked him all the details of how he won the national championship, but in his few words he let me know that it only took ‘blocking and tackling.’
Relate this to what we do in our business: Focus on the blocking and tackling. Execute the simple details to perfection and you will be able to win, and win more than the other guys.The Best $90 I Ever Spent
If you have lived in the last 50 years and paid any attention to college football you probably know that in the state of Alabama, football is one of those things that is considered to be a religion. Sundays are days where people go to church and in autumn, most people spend their Sundays recapping and recounting the events of the Alabama Football game the day before. The history of the University of Alabama with George Wallace blocking the school house door is only rivaled in the hearts and minds of Alabamians with some of the greatest players that have ever been on the UA Football Teams. t is safe to say, unless you live in a cave – you are familiar with what the sport of football means to the people of Alabama.
While boarding a flight for Dallas a couple of Mondays ago, I had the chance to upgrade my seat to first class for $90. I wasn’t checking any bags and wasn’t getting docked with any bag fees. It was a early evening flight that would put me in Dallas after 8pm, just in time to have to eat a late meal, so I thought – why not, I will be able to relax more and work while traveling. While standing in line to get on the plane – I noticed an older gentleman coming from the right and I motioned him to go in front of me. It took a few seconds for me to realize that this man was none other than Coach Gene Stallings. I thought, “that’s cool – I am on the same plane with Gene Stallings, hell we’re even sitting in first class together!” As we walk on to the plane I noticed that Gene walked down and sat in the seat right next to mine and I thought, wow what a lucky day. As I sat down next to him I introduced myself and we began to talk a little about what each other were doing – (basically why we were traveling to Dallas).
Coach Stallings could tell I was obviously eager to converse, and as we talked there were some very unique things discussed. Coach Stallings had been in Birmingham (he currently lives in Paris, Texas – about 150 miles Northeast of Dallas) giving a speech to a Quarterback Club. When I asked him about what he thought about the salaries that some coaches earned, he chuckled and said it was embarrassing. You see, what Coach Stallings went on to elaborate was he never got into coaching for the money. He said the schools and teams like the Dallas Cowboys (whom he was an assistant under Tom Landry), always told him what they were going to pay him and that was good enough for him. He had no complaints about money but said for what people are getting paid vs. what they are achieving is not a solid value. That money should be put towards the University and the education of students. Since he’s from Dallas, I went on to ask him what he thought of the new Cowboys stadium. You know, the one that has the ‘largest and greatest picture video screen’ in the world. He said these pro stadiums have gotten ridiculous, owners tell the cities they have to have these new monstrosities in order to attract fans and bring in more revenue for the cities – however the owners do not share any of the revenues from the VIP suite sales which in most cases are from $50,000 to $100,000 or more a year. Multiply that times 100 suites and you see why each professional team owner wants a larger stadium. Coach Stallings also talked about recruiting and finding talent. He put together the greatest team Alabama has had in the last 30 years – the 1992 team that won the national championship at the Sugar Bowl when they clobbered a bigger / faster and what appeared to be a better Miami Hurricanes team. Stallings talked about how his team was not only filled with talented people, but they had leaders too. There were no egos too big to admit mistakes and everyone on the team knew they could be better everyday. He said there were not a lot of top rated high school recruits on that team (there were definitely some), but he said they were a group of people that just knew how to play football.
The Coach went on to ask me about my business and how the economy has affected it and I told him. We talked about what it takes today to run a business like an advertising agency, and where the future of the automotive market is heading. Coach Stallings wasn’t much for vanity and vehicles – he said his pickup truck was great, it worked well on his cattle ranch and unless it broke he didn’t plan on getting another one. There was never any mention into what brand, but you could tell he liked it. He told me he didn’t know enough about advertising to give me much advice other than, people generally believe what they see and hear on TV and that as long as a man doesn’t spend more on himself than he makes, he is going to turn out fine. As the flight went on, Coach Stallings and I talked more and more about football and people. It seemed that the two were going hand-in-hand, and towards the end of the flight his points were made very clear. Coach Stallings was not a very complicated person, he didn’t use text messages or computers – he asked that everything be sent to him via phone call or fax. He relied on people to help him – from the people he had teach him, to the people that he went on to teach – he was a fan and admirer of people. The end of our conversation turned back to the basics. I never asked him all the details of how he won the national championship, but in his few words he let me know that it only took ‘blocking and tackling.’
Relate this to what we do in our business: Focus on the blocking and tackling. Execute the simple details to perfection and you will be able to win, and win more than the other guys.The Best $90 I Ever Spent
If you have lived in the last 50 years and paid any attention to college football you probably know that in the state of Alabama, football is one of those things that is considered to be a religion. Sundays are days where people go to church and in autumn, most people spend their Sundays recapping and recounting the events of the Alabama Football game the day before. The history of the University of Alabama with George Wallace blocking the school house door is only rivaled in the hearts and minds of Alabamians with some of the greatest players that have ever been on the UA Football Teams. t is safe to say, unless you live in a cave – you are familiar with what the sport of football means to the people of Alabama.
While boarding a flight for Dallas a couple of Mondays ago, I had the chance to upgrade my seat to first class for $90. I wasn’t checking any bags and wasn’t getting docked with any bag fees. It was a early evening flight that would put me in Dallas after 8pm, just in time to have to eat a late meal, so I thought – why not, I will be able to relax more and work while traveling. While standing in line to get on the plane – I noticed an older gentleman coming from the right and I motioned him to go in front of me. It took a few seconds for me to realize that this man was none other than Coach Gene Stallings. I thought, “that’s cool – I am on the same plane with Gene Stallings, hell we’re even sitting in first class together!” As we walk on to the plane I noticed that Gene walked down and sat in the seat right next to mine and I thought, wow what a lucky day. As I sat down next to him I introduced myself and we began to talk a little about what each other were doing – (basically why we were traveling to Dallas).
Coach Stallings could tell I was obviously eager to converse, and as we talked there were some very unique things discussed. Coach Stallings had been in Birmingham (he currently lives in Paris, Texas – about 150 miles Northeast of Dallas) giving a speech to a Quarterback Club. When I asked him about what he thought about the salaries that some coaches earned, he chuckled and said it was embarrassing. You see, what Coach Stallings went on to elaborate was he never got into coaching for the money. He said the schools and teams like the Dallas Cowboys (whom he was an assistant under Tom Landry), always told him what they were going to pay him and that was good enough for him. He had no complaints about money but said for what people are getting paid vs. what they are achieving is not a solid value. That money should be put towards the University and the education of students. Since he’s from Dallas, I went on to ask him what he thought of the new Cowboys stadium. You know, the one that has the ‘largest and greatest picture video screen’ in the world. He said these pro stadiums have gotten ridiculous, owners tell the cities they have to have these new monstrosities in order to attract fans and bring in more revenue for the cities – however the owners do not share any of the revenues from the VIP suite sales which in most cases are from $50,000 to $100,000 or more a year. Multiply that times 100 suites and you see why each professional team owner wants a larger stadium. Coach Stallings also talked about recruiting and finding talent. He put together the greatest team Alabama has had in the last 30 years – the 1992 team that won the national championship at the Sugar Bowl when they clobbered a bigger / faster and what appeared to be a better Miami Hurricanes team. Stallings talked about how his team was not only filled with talented people, but they had leaders too. There were no egos too big to admit mistakes and everyone on the team knew they could be better everyday. He said there were not a lot of top rated high school recruits on that team (there were definitely some), but he said they were a group of people that just knew how to play football.
The Coach went on to ask me about my business and how the economy has affected it and I told him. We talked about what it takes today to run a business like an advertising agency, and where the future of the automotive market is heading. Coach Stallings wasn’t much for vanity and vehicles – he said his pickup truck was great, it worked well on his cattle ranch and unless it broke he didn’t plan on getting another one. There was never any mention into what brand, but you could tell he liked it. He told me he didn’t know enough about advertising to give me much advice other than, people generally believe what they see and hear on TV and that as long as a man doesn’t spend more on himself than he makes, he is going to turn out fine. As the flight went on, Coach Stallings and I talked more and more about football and people. It seemed that the two were going hand-in-hand, and towards the end of the flight his points were made very clear. Coach Stallings was not a very complicated person, he didn’t use text messages or computers – he asked that everything be sent to him via phone call or fax. He relied on people to help him – from the people he had teach him, to the people that he went on to teach – he was a fan and admirer of people. The end of our conversation turned back to the basics. I never asked him all the details of how he won the national championship, but in his few words he let me know that it only took ‘blocking and tackling.’
Relate this to what we do in our business: Focus on the blocking and tackling. Execute the simple details to perfection and you will be able to win, and win more than the other guys.
If you have lived in the last 50 years and paid any attention to college football, you probably know that in the state of Alabama, football is one of those things that is considered to be a ‘religion’. Sundays are days where people go to church, and in the fall, most people spend their Sundays recapping and recounting the events of the previous day’s Alabama Football game. The history of the University of Alabama with George Wallace blocking the school house door is only rivaled in the hearts and minds of Alabamians with some of the greatest players that have ever been on the UA Football Teams. It is safe to say– unless you live in a cave – you are familiar with what the sport of football means to the people of Alabama.
While boarding a flight for Dallas a couple of Mondays ago, I had the chance to upgrade my seat to first class for $90. I wasn’t checking any bags and wasn’t getting docked with any bag fees. It was a early evening flight that would put me in Dallas after 8pm, just in time to have to eat a late meal, so I thought – why not, I will be able to relax more and work while I’m traveling. While standing in line to get on the plane, I noticed an older gentleman coming from the right and I motioned him to go in front of me. It took a few seconds for me to realize that this man was none other than Coach Gene Stallings. I thought, “that’s cool – I am on the same plane with Gene Stallings. Hell we’re even sitting in first class together!” As we walk on to the plane I noticed that Gene walked down and sat in the seat right next to mine and I thought, wow what a lucky day. As I sat down next to him, I introduced myself and we began to talk a little about what each other were doing (basically why we were traveling to Dallas).
Coach Stallings could tell I was obviously eager to converse, and as we talked there were some very unique things discussed. Coach Stallings had been in Birmingham (he currently lives in Paris, Texas – about 150 miles Northeast of Dallas) giving a speech to a Quarterback Club. When I asked him about what he thought about the salaries that some coaches earned, he chuckled and said it was embarrassing. You see, what Coach Stallings went on to elaborate was he never got into coaching for the money. He said the schools and teams like the Dallas Cowboys (whom he was an assistant under Tom Landry), always told him what they were going to pay him and that was good enough for him. He had no complaints about money, but he said, “For what people are getting paid vs. what they are achieving, is not a solid value. That money should be put towards the University and the education of students.” Since he’s from Dallas, I went on to ask him what he thought of the new Cowboys stadium. You know, the one that has the ‘largest and greatest picture video screen’ in the world. He said these pro stadiums have gotten ridiculous, owners tell the cities they have to have these new monstrosities in order to attract fans and bring in more revenue for the cities – however the owners do not share any of the revenues from the VIP suite sales which in most cases are from $50,000 to $100,000 or more a year. Multiply that times 100 suites and you see why each professional team owner wants a larger stadium.
Coach Stallings also talked about recruiting and finding talent. He put together the greatest team Alabama has had in the last 30 years – the 1992 team that won the National Championship in the Sugar Bowl when they clobbered a bigger, faster and what appeared to be a better Miami Hurricanes team. Stallings talked about how his team was not only filled with talented people; they had leaders too. There were no egos too big to admit mistakes and everyone on the team knew they could be better everyday. He said there were not a lot of top-rated high school recruits on that team (there were definitely some), but they were a group of people that just knew how to play football.
The Coach went on to ask me about my business and how the economy has affected it and I told him. We talked about what it takes today to run a business like an advertising agency, and where the future of the automotive market is heading. Coach Stallings wasn’t much for vanity and vehicles – he said his pickup truck was great, it worked well on his cattle ranch and unless it broke he didn’t plan on getting another one. There was never any mention into what brand, but you could tell he liked it. He told me he didn’t know enough about advertising to give me much advice other than, people generally believe what they see and hear on TV and that as long as a man doesn’t spend more on himself than he makes, he is going to turn out fine. As the flight went on, Coach Stallings and I talked more and more about football and people. It seemed that the two were going hand-in-hand, and towards the end of the flight his points were made very clear. Coach Stallings was not a very complicated person, he didn’t use text messages or computers – he asked that everything be sent to him via phone call or fax. He relied on people to help him – from the people he had teach him, to the people that he went on to teach – he was a fan and admirer of people. The end of our conversation turned back to the basics. I never asked him all the details of how he won the national championship, but in his few words he let me know that it only took ‘blocking and tackling.’
Relate this to what we do in our business: Focus on the blocking and tackling. Execute the simple details to perfection and you will be able to win, and win more than the other guys.
Posted
John Paul Strong
John Paul Strong combines his two decades of automotive marketing experience with a team of more than 150 professionals as owner and CEO of Strong Automotive.
