President’s Message
Position Yourself to Win
E
very spring in the U.S. an event
called March Madness occurs. It is
the 64-team men’s college basketball
tournament that culminates in the
crowning of the national champion. The
tournament is marked by electrifying
games and Cinderella stories that often
produce unforgettable moments.
The 2016 championship game be-
tween University of North Carolina and
Villanova University featured multiple
long-distance last-second shots, mak-
ing it an instant classic that many fans
say was the best finish ever. While it
Tom Cecich was a great game, another champion-
ship final stands out even more: the
1984 championship game between
North Carolina State University and
the University of Houston. It featured
a last-second desperation shot caught
by Lorenzo Charles who slam-dunked
the ball at the buzzer for a 54-52 victory
(full disclosure, my graduate degree is
from NC State).
NC State was the prohibitive under-
dog against one of the finest teams in
college basketball history. The team
had an average season and
was on the bubble to even
“How do you go make the tournament, but
from where you are won its last 10 games, most
to where you want to against superior teams and all
by close margins, including
be? You have to have several overtime victories. The
a dream, a goal, and outcome of each game was
you have to be will- in question until players on
the opposing teams missed
ing to work for it.” free throws that propelled NC
Jimmy Valvano State to upset wins.
Weeks after the champion-
ship, I watched an interview
with NC State Coach Jimmy Valvano,
who was credited with one of the most
masterful coaching performances in
NCAA tournament history. While
most reporters praised his coaching,
one reporter was not so sure. “Coach,”
he asked, “didn’t you just get lucky
when the other teams missed their foul
shots?” Valvano replied that his strategy
was to put his players in the position to
win against the better teams.
I have thought about that interview
many times. It is easy to say that NC
State was lucky. One bounce in a dif-
ferent direction in any game and the
outcome might have been different.
However, Valvano had his team close
in each game and prepared to take ad-
vantage of even the slightest bit of luck.
6 ProfessionalSafety MARCH 2017 www.asse.org
I use Valvano’s example when advis-
ing people about professional develop-
ment. Valvano’s game plan was precise
and his team executed it flawlessly. Yes,
luck smiled on them, but only through By invest-
hard work and thorough preparation ing in our
was the team in a position to win. careers we
Much the same can be said for OSH
professionals when we are looking for put our-
new jobs or are seeking to advance selves in
within our current organizations. I often the best
use the quote, “Luck is what happens
when preparation meets opportunity” position to
(widely attributed to Roman philoso- win. The
pher Seneca). The ball will not always resources
bounce in your favor or my favor, but
we each must prepare ourselves for available to
when our turn comes. Preparation al- us as ASSE
ways puts us in the best position to win. members
For safety professionals, what does
preparing to win look like? It means we give each
continuously build our business skills of us a
and technical capabilities. We establish genuine
what we do well and understand what
uniquely prepares us for the next op- advantage.
portunity. We determine what we need
to do to make ourselves most valuable
to our organizations or to potential new
employers.
In my career, I have always looked
ahead to identify what I needed to
do to prepare for my next career step.
ASSE has been an key partner in my
career progression because my mem-
bership provides me access to net-
working, professional development,
certification and leadership growth.
We will always face competition for
new and better opportunities. No team
wins every game and we do not get
every opportunity we seek. However, by
investing in our careers, we put ourselves
in the best position to win. The resources
available to us as ASSE members give
each of us a genuine advantage.
There is a sad footnote to NC State’s
thrilling 1984 championship. Lorenzo
Charles, who scored the game-winning
basket, was killed in a work-related Connect
bus crash in 2011. Putting ourselves in With
a position to win professionally also Tom
Join the
helps prepare us to do our jobs and
conversa-
be better equipped to win the battle
tion. Read
against workplace injuries.
Tom’s blog,
join him on
LinkedIn or follow
him on Twitter.
www.asse.org/
Thomas F. Cecich, CSP, CIH connect.
@ASSEPrez
Reproduced with permission of copyright owner.
Further reproduction prohibited without
permission.