Above the line : lessons in leadership and life from a championship season

In only thirteen years as a head football coach, first at Bowling Green and then at Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, Urban Meyer has established himself as an elite coach, with three national championships and a cumulative record of 142 wins and only 26 losses. But sheer statistics are not the measure of his true accomplishment, nor do they speak to his own extraordinary learning journey. Now he offers to readers his insights into leadership, team building and the keys to empowering people to achieve things they might never have thought possible. Despite winning two national championships at Florida in only six seasons, Meyer stepped back from the game at the end of the 2010 season, amid health concerns and a growing awareness that his almost maniacal pursuit of perfection was distorting his priorities, distancing him from his family and taking him away from the reasons he wanted to coach in the first place. When he returned to the sport in 2012 as the head coach at Ohio State, the school he grew up rooting for, Meyer did so with a renewed sense of the deeper purpose of his work and a profound commitment to life balance that had previously been lacking. What remained constant was his passion for leading, teaching and motivating, forging his football teams into a cohesive whole, playing for one another with selfless commitment and uncommon intensity. A student of psychology long before he became a coach, Meyer believes that trust is the bedrock of great achievements and healthy relationships, and explains how to build it, step by step -- whether in a team, a family, or a Fortune 500 company. With trust in place, a deep bond unites us in common purpose, and cultivates what he calls "Above the Line" behavior -- a learned, empowered response to the challenges we face every day. Read more... Abstract: In only thirteen years as a head football coach, first at Bowling Green and then at Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, Urban Meyer has established himself as an elite coach, with three national championships and a cumulative record of 142 wins and only 26 losses. But sheer statistics are not the measure of his true accomplishment, nor do they speak to his own extraordinary learning journey. Now he offers to readers his insights into leadership, team building and the keys to empowering people to achieve things they might never have thought possible. Despite winning two national championships at Florida in only six seasons, Meyer stepped back from the game at the end of the 2010 season, amid health concerns and a growing awareness that his almost maniacal pursuit of perfection was distorting his priorities, distancing him from his family and taking him away from the reasons he wanted to coach in the first place. When he returned to the sport in 2012 as the head coach at Ohio State, the school he grew up rooting for, Meyer did so with a renewed sense of the deeper purpose of his work and a profound commitment to life balance that had previously been lacking. What remained constant was his passion for leading, teaching and motivating, forging his football teams into a cohesive whole, playing for one another with selfless commitment and uncommon intensity. A student of psychology long before he became a coach, Meyer believes that trust is the bedrock of great achievements and healthy relationships, and explains how to build it, step by step -- whether in a team, a family, or a Fortune 500 company. With trust in place, a deep bond unites us in common purpose, and cultivates what he calls "Above the Line" behavior -- a learned, empowered response to the challenges we face every day The instant New York Times bestseller Remarkable lessons in leadership and team building from one of the greatest football coaches of our time. Urban Meyer has established himself as one of the elite in the annals of his sport, having lead his players to three national championships. In Above the Line , he offers readers his unparalleled insights into leadership, team building, and the keys to empowering people to achieve things they might never have thought possible. Meyer shares his groundbreaking game plan—the game plan followed every day in the Ohio State Buckeyes’ championship season—for creating a culture of success built on trust and a commitment to a common purpose. Packed with real life examples from Meyer’s storied career, Above the Line delivers wisdom and inspiration for taking control and turning setbacks into victories for a team, a family, or a Fortune 500 company.