Coach Norman Dale was a great negotiator. Not a perfect guy by any means, but when you study the principles of good negotiation, you start getting an idea about why the Hickory Huskers won state in 1952.

And so what if Coach Dale comes from a movie? It was a great one.

Since I've been writing about Jim Camp for a few days, it should be noted that he used 33 specific rules (or principles) in his negotiation system, but I want to pick 3 and talk about them briefly as they apply to the film Hoosiers (1986).

• Always show respect to the blocker.

• Interrogative-led questions drive vision.

• All agreements must be clarified point by point and sealed three times (using 3+).

Always show respect to the blocker.

Myra Fleener, played by Barbara Hershey, was the blocker for Jimmy Chitwood, the would-be star player for the Hickory squad. Jimmy has had some family issues and was unsure about the new coach and didn't turn out for the club at the beginning of the season.

Myra was fiercely protective of Jimmy, her neighbor and family friend.

Coach Dale respected the blocker. He kept his distance from Chitwood. Eventually, Jimmy came around, likely thanks to Ms. Fleener's advocacy and Coach Dale's straightforward manner.

During the town meeting that was held to determine Coach Dale's fate, Jimmy unexpectedly took the podium. "I don't know if it'll make any change, but I figured it's time for me to start playing ball." The townspeople were ecstatic at the prospect to have Chitwood back on the floor.

The votes came in 68-45 to can the coach. "But, there's just one thing," said young Chitwood. "I play, Coach stays. He goes, I go."

The town re-voted (by voice). Coach Dale was unanimously allowed to stay, and, as best as I can tell, the Huskers did not lose a game the rest of the way with Jimmy on the floor.

Interrogative-led questions drive vision.

Early in the game, Coach Dale instructed his best defender, Buddy, “Stick with your man. Think of him as chewing gum. By the end of the game, I want you to know what flavor he is.”

Buddy eventually fouled out and as he's returning to his seat on the Hickory bench, Coach Dale shrugged perhaps as if to ask, "What flavor?"

“It was Dentyne,” said Buddy.

All agreements must be clarified point by point and sealed three times (using 3+).

Coach Dale's offensive philosophy was agreed upon by using "3+." The team agreed (probably way more than) 3 times that they would have a minimum number of passes before shooting the ball.

“How many passes?” asked Coach Dale.

“Four!” said the Husker team in unison.

Several scenes later coach asks again, “How many times are we going to pass off? How many?”

“Four!” replied the team.

Just before Hickory's season opener, coach gives them a talk. “Guys, remember what we worked on in practice? I want to see it on the court! How many times are we going to pass before we shoot? How many?"

“Four!”

And then early in that game, starting guard Rade Butcher challenged Dale, hoisting several jumpers from long range without once passing the ball. Dale naturally benches Rade and even after losing another player by fouling out, Coach refuses to reinsert Rade, content to finish the game with only 4 players on the floor—those who followed through on their agreement to pass 4 times before shooting. 

The principles of negotiation are everywhere. The late Jim Camp was the best there was at teaching the system.

Like Norman Dale, Jim Camp was a teacher and a coach too. He played D1 football at Ohio State, but he coached negotiation not football, even incorporating principles from his own head coach, the legendary Woody Hayes.

Winning a state or national championship takes more than just negotiation skills, no doubt, but negotiation is a huge part in building any team, from the ballfield, to the hardwood, to the boardroom, and even to the family unit.

Michael Senoff's Jim Camp Master Negotiator Interview Series features his own 7+ hours of interviews with Camp along with the PDF transcripts.

The 9 downloadable mp3 audio recordings are nothing short of life-changing. Senoff sells this package for $597 on his own website.

To get a cool $400+ off the entire package,  go directly to the page Michael set up for our subscribers:

Deal ends Saturday at midnight Pacific. 

As always,

Brian