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This has been a remarkable year for the Eagles, and it's been a great year to be a fan of them. This is a team to root for. It's a team with enormous personality, working hard but having a ton of fun.
We wish for that sort of dynamic to happen in our own lives; this is where sports finds its most important role in our world, showing how it can be done.
Coach Doug Pederson is a guy who encouraged the team to improve through what owner Jeff Lurie calls "emotional intelligence". His predecessor was a genius football mind, trying to revolutionize the game, but could not work with pro players. After a while they abandoned him and his scheme fell to pieces.
At the start of this season, one sportswriter said of Pederson that he "might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen." And I think, the best boss I ever had in IT came from grocery store management. He managed 1000 part-timers before he ever managed anyone in an office. As a result, he was great at managing people in an office. People wanted to work for him, and they worked hard for him.
At work, I am at a startup run by a very bright founder, but he has zero emotional intelligence. He antagonizes everyone, and they become sad and less productive. All I wish for, all day, is a team. I wish for the tribal aspects of our humanity, brought to actually improve us instead of driving us apart. We CAN work together for a common goal. That's what we are meant to do in this world.
But not if we are led without emotional intelligence.
Go EAGLES!!!
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