Backup To Go Forward

This week, let’s skate on thin ice, and learn how great leaders get ready for cracks underfoot. How do they end up better off after they’re upended? We might find it helps to know a Zamboni driver.

Table of Contents

• THE ULLMEN INSIGHT: The best leaders find alternatives, and alternatives to alternatives...

• THE ULLMEN TRIO: Guests: Scotty Bowman and Beatrix Potter

• THE TRIO TAKEAWAYS: Lessons learned

• THE TRIPLE PLAY: Compare, Contrast and Create

• Last week our guests were Yogi Berra and Charlie C …

THE ULLMEN INSIGHT

Entrepreneur Chris Guillebeau said, “If Plan A fails, remember you have 25 letters left.” 

Before you need to quit, why not generate a quick list of inventive, motivating, path-expanding options? 

Impending failure casts shadows that cloud the mind and hide possibilities. Failure, if it comes, is bad enough. Don’t let it win too soon!

Be a leader who inspires possibilities, even though failure is one of them. It always is! So what? Don’t let it steal more mental & emotional space than it deserves. 

Today’s scorecard isn’t tomorrow’s story. 

In leadership life, unexpected challenges can spoil our plans, so plan to adapt, and plan to enjoy it. 

The Airbnb founders did it early-on, when their business was in trouble. Their double backup was Plan “O.” 

It was election season, and to keep their venture going, they cleverly created & sold presidential candidate breakfast cereals: “Cap’N McCains” & “Obama O’s.”

Even if Airbnb tanked, they gained inventive experience, and a helluva story. They found a worthy way to go forward, or to go out in style. 

In the National Hockey League, if a goalie and backup goalie both get injured, there’s always someone in the stands ready like a superhero to change from plainclothes into goalie-gear and play for either team. 

It’s rare, but leaders are ready for rare. 

Call it Plan Z -- for Zamboni -- because one time, on a moment’s notice, the Zamboni driver strapped on the pads, stopped 8 shots, and saved the game. 

Don’t let losing win! 

From Plan A to O to Z, leaders spell success with every letter in the alphabet.

That’s the Insight: Be a Multi-Letter Leader. 

THE ULLMEN TRIO

John holds an imagined conversation on our theme with this week’s guests, Scotty Bowman and Beatrix Potter.

John Ullmen:

Welcome.  So let’s start with this: how important is it to you as leaders to anticipate and adapt to challenges and potential failure? And how do you create successful alternatives? 

Scotty Bowman: You know, John, the thing about sports — and life, really — is that nothing ever goes exactly as planned. I used to say, "Coaching is preparation multiplied by adaptation." Because if you’re inflexible when chaos inevitably strikes, you’ll lose. One moment that stands out to me, a real pressure cooker, was during the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals with the Detroit Red Wings. We were going into Game 4 against Philly – our playbook was set. But then, in the second period, they started absolutely shutting down our expected power plays. Chris Chelios got caught up in a poor rotation, our forwards were hitting a physical wall.

Now, I could’ve panicked and started yelling, but I got quiet. I just told myself, “Adapt the play or lose.” So, during the intermission, I pulled Steve Yzerman aside and asked him straight up, “Stevie, what are you seeing out there?” That moment of humility – trusting a crucial player’s perspective – that's when I saw we needed to run puck possession along the left boards instead of our planned center penetration. Within minutes of the puck drop in the third, it worked. We broke through, got a key goal, and clinched the series.

What that taught me – and why it means so much – is that leaders can’t fear adapting, especially in high-stakes moments. It's why I learned to simplify under pressure. If your team senses you’ve got positive, calm control, that you can adjust, they’ll follow you anywhere. You don’t control the chaos; you pivot within it. It’s about staying sharp, upbeat, and making sure everyone believes they can still win, no matter what gets thrown at them. Players feed off that energy.

Beatrix Potter: Scotty, I absolutely loved what you said about getting quiet and trusting your team’s insight. It resonates so deeply with me, though my “team” was often more furry or feathered! My experiences as a naturalist and author might seem worlds away from coaching the Red Wings, but this principle of adapting under pressure, that's truly universal.

You know, by the time I published The Tale of Peter Rabbit, my manuscript had been dismissed by six publishers, and at that point, I could have simply given up. Instead, I thought, “How can I adapt?” So, I decided to self-publish. I personally oversaw the printing of 250 copies, hand-delivering them to booksellers and even taking them to children whose parents I knew. I can still feel the weight of those little books, and the nervous hope as I handed them out.

What’s funny is that adapting then wasn’t just about getting the book into readers’ hands — it also changed how I told stories afterward. Because I was directly observing children’s reactions, I learned to weave in little cliffhangers, suspenseful moments, and soft resolutions. Those observations drove the success of future books.

What all of this – the rejections, the self-publishing hustle – taught me about leadership is that setbacks aren't failures unless you stop moving. Adaptation is less about a flashy comeback and more about persistence coated in creativity. When you pour yourself into positive determination, others feel it, whether they’re readers or colleagues or, as in Scotty’s case, players. It's like planting seeds, even in rocky soil, and then watching them grow, sometimes in unexpected and beautiful ways.

John: I love knowing that about you - that you hand delivered books to children. That’s commitment!  It makes me wonder, as leaders, how can we develop the ability to create viable alternatives and change course while staying upbeat and determined? 

Beatrix Potter: That’s a great question, I believe a key element is cultivating a deep sense of…

THE TRIO TAKEAWAYS

Here are more titles of the takeaways I pulled from the extended conversation. I will make the full explanations of each one, and how to apply them, available separately…

• Use “250 Rabbits” to dodge rejection and soar.

• Weave the “Cliffhanger tweak” to keep winning with feedback.

• Rehearse the “C, D, E playbook” to outsmart any curveball.

• Flip the “Offense-to-defense 180” for a fearless overhaul.

• Redirect the “Fungi-to-Peter” pivot to turn pain into triumph.

• Spark the “Highlight reel jolt” to reignite unbeatable spirit.

• Fuel the “Lake District love” to fight through any storm.

• Probe the “Shepherd chat” to lead with curious connection.

• Study the “Islanders’ trap” to turn rivals into mentors.

• Dream the “Post-storm sketches” in solitude for genius leaps.

• Drill the “Two-minute drill” to make agility automatic.

• Embrace the “Sheep scab surprise” to innovate in uncertainty.

• Evolve the “Nine-Cup study” to stay forever sharp.

• Surrender the “Flashy Sabres ego” for collective wins.

• Spin the “Jemima tale” to rally with storytelling magic.

• Stock the “Puppa backup” to build an unstoppable bench.

• Recall the “Old farm journals” for timeless pivots.

• Listen for “Skate Sharpener’s Tips” from quiet corners.

• Blend the “Fungi-to-farm” mix for boundary-busting wins.

  
  

THE TRIPLE PLAY

Great leaders grow their understanding of people by exploring similarities, differences, and possibilities. Let’s practice this skill each week, with inspiration from our Trio guests.

1. COMPARE: Something they share.

Devotion to Lands and Places: 

Bowman is famously tied to areas where hockey thrives, like Montreal, Detroit, and Buffalo, and has espoused deep love for hockey’s heritage and tradition. 

Potter was deeply passionate about preserving land in England’s Lake District, becoming a conservationist later in life. Both had emotional connections to the places they called home or “home rink.”

2. CONTRAST: Something they see differently.

Legacy Building:

Bowman built his legacy through championships, coaching records, and developing winning teams and star players in a very public arena.

Potter created a quieter legacy through her books, conservation work, and scientific contributions (particularly in mycology), focusing on inspiring generations of children rather than achieving public accolades during her lifetime.

3. CREATE: Something they might innovate.

To help us exercise our own leadership creativity, here we imagine the guests were alive today and joined forces to create something new. 

I’ll share one of my favorites next week, and I welcome yours in the meantime!

Last week our guests were Yogi Berra and Charlie Chaplain , and this could be one of theirs:

"Life's a Pitch": A comedy film where Yogi plays a coach and Charlie plays a bumbling baseball player, teaching life lessons through hilarious mishaps.

Apply some takeaways this week!

And let me know:

• In what ways did you find this week’s newsletter helpful or informative?

• Do you have any personal stories that illustrate the takeaways?

• Let's keep learning together - ask any leadership questions for future newsletters!

Send your emails directly to me at [email protected], or simply reply to this email.

Until next week…

Let’s make things better,

John