Dear Friends,

It’s September, which means Americans are once again obsessing over what may be our last great shared cultural passion: the NFL.

But football isn’t just entertainment. Strip away the helmets and touchdowns, and you’ll find a set of challenges that look strikingly familiar to leaders in every industry. NFL teams operate in a hyper-competitive, constantly evolving environment. Their executives face relentless scrutiny from stakeholders. They manage highly compensated, high-ego employees. And the definition of success is unambiguous, even if the path to get there never is.

Sound familiar?

As the new season kicks off, here are three leadership lessons worth carrying from the gridiron into the boardroom.

1. Being great at one thing doesn’t make you good at everything.
David Tepper earned his reputation as one of the greatest hedge fund managers of his generation. But since buying the Carolina Panthers in 2018, his team has compiled one of the worst records in the league. Tepper’s inability to translate his financial genius into football success isn’t unique — it highlights a fundamental truth: skills rarely transfer seamlessly across industries, or even companies. In fact, top performers in one context often underperform when they change settings. Leaders who assume success in one domain guarantees success in another set themselves up for failure. Humility, and a willingness to lean on the expertise of those already in the field, is the difference between stumbling and adapting.

2. Replacing disastrous leadership can pay immediate dividends.
For 24 years, Dan Snyder presided over the Washington franchise, combining failure on the field with scandal off it. His sale of the team in 2023 to Josh Harris led to sweeping changes — a new front office, new head coach, and a Heisman-winning quarterback. One year later, Washington reached its first conference championship in three decades. Most corporate transformations take years, but there’s an exception: when the bar is set at rock bottom. Replacing truly toxic leadership can create instant improvement, not just because the new leader is better, but because employees, fans, and stakeholders are suddenly freed from the dysfunction that held them back. Sometimes the fastest wins come not from pursuing greatness, but from removing the worst.

3. Good governance beats great egos.
The Green Bay Packers are the NFL’s lone publicly owned, nonprofit team. Unlike franchises dominated by a single billionaire’s whims, the Packers’ board and CEO structure forces long-term planning, accountability, and continuity. The results speak for themselves: sustained competitiveness, stability in leadership, and consistent playoff appearances. In the corporate world, founders often resist oversight, preferring unilateral control. Yet the Packers show that constraints can be a leader’s greatest ally. Guardrails don’t stifle innovation; they protect organizations from volatility and self-inflicted wounds. The lesson is simple: governance is the foundation that makes excellence durable.

So when you tune into kickoff this Sunday, remember: football isn’t just a game. It’s a weekly leadership case study, and the lessons are right there on the field.

—Gautam

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Further Reading….

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