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Process thinking
Step-by-step analysis

Process thinking, also known as "the process", is a philosophy that emphasizes preparation and hard work over consideration of outcomes or results, and is particularly popular in professional sports. Practitioners of process thinking focus on the present instead of past events or future outcomes, and believe that all actions one takes in life, regardless of how trivial they may seem, affect the desired outcome. The philosophy was popularized by American football coach Nick Saban.

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History

The step-by-step mechanism of process thinking is a prominent part of cognitive behavioral thinking, which was developed by psychiatrist Aaron Beck.5 In the 1960s, Beck developed a therapy which relies on the idea that thoughts affect feelings, and that good mental habits are systematically built up one step at a time.67

Use in coaching

Don’t think about winning the SEC Championship. Don’t think about the national championship. Think about what you needed to do in this drill, on this play, in this moment. That’s the process: Let’s think about what we can do today, the task at hand.

— Nick Saban8

Nick Saban formulated process thinking as it pertains to American football with the help of psychiatry professor Lionel Rosen while Saban was the head coach at Michigan State University.910 Saban and Rosen broke down complicated tasks like football games—and entire seasons—down into smaller, more manageable pieces. Rosen emphasized that the average football play lasts only seven seconds so coaches and players should concentrate only on those seconds, take a rest between plays, then do it all over again.11

During his time with LSU, the Miami Dolphins, and later the University of Alabama, Saban refined this systematic approach and extended it to include all aspects of managing a football program, which he calls "the process."12 A key element of Saban's process, often stylized "The Process", is clearly defined expectations for his players not only on the field, but also academically and personally (including a dress code), which are monitored year-round.1314

Nick Saban's Process featured in Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle Is the Way, where it drew comparisons to Stoic philosophy.1516

Saban has led his teams to numerous conference championships and seven national championships, six of them with Alabama and one with LSU.17 Much of the credit for Saban's sustained success has been given to the Process.18

Other coaches, players and general managers such as Head Coach of the Chicago Bears John Fox, Texas A&M Aggies Football coach Jimbo Fisher and University of Texas head basketball coach Shaka Smart have also asked their teams to “follow the process.”192021

Prominent practitioners

See also

Further reading

References

  1. St. John, Warren Nick Saban: Sympathy for the Devil GQ Magazine. January 4, 2016 https://www.gq.com/story/coach-nick-saban-alabama-maniac ↩

  2. Burke, Monte (2015). Saban: The Making of a Coach. /w/index.php?title=Monte_Burke&action=edit&redlink=1 ↩

  3. Feloni, Richard The Simple Strategy Alabama Coach Nick Saban Used To Create A College Football Dynasty Business Insider. January 4, 2016 http://www.businessinsider.com/nick-saban-strategy-for-success-2014-5 ↩

  4. Burnett, Marq Book review: Agent, professor helped Saban move up Anniston Star. January 4, 2016 http://www.annistonstar.com/sports/book-review-agent-professor-helped-saban-move-up/article_69c76500-3a52-11e5-8d0d-9f37c4f6da67.html ↩

  5. Burke, Monte (2015). Saban: The Making of a Coach. /w/index.php?title=Monte_Burke&action=edit&redlink=1 ↩

  6. Layard, Richard and David M. Clark Why Do Fewer Than One in Three People With Mental Illness Receive Treatment? Huffington Post UK. January 4, 2016 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/richard-layard/mental-health-issues-uk_b_5558239.html ↩

  7. Treating depression in Chinese-Canadians Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine Vancouver Sun. January 4, 2016 http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=38de1f5b-3c66-431a-8567-86e53eb18ff5 ↩

  8. Holiday, Ryan (2015). The Obstacle Is The Way. /wiki/Ryan_Holiday ↩

  9. St. John, Warren Nick Saban: Sympathy for the Devil GQ Magazine. January 4, 2016 https://www.gq.com/story/coach-nick-saban-alabama-maniac ↩

  10. Holiday, Ryan Here’s the Strategy Elite Athletes Follow to Perform at the Highest Level New York Observer. January 5, 2016 https://observer.com/2015/12/heres-the-strategy-elite-athletes-follow-to-perform-at-the-highest-level/ ↩

  11. Burke, Monte (2015). Saban: The Making of a Coach. /w/index.php?title=Monte_Burke&action=edit&redlink=1 ↩

  12. Burke, Monte 9 Leadership Lessons From Nick Saban Forbes. January 5, 2016 https://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2015/08/04/9-leadership-lessons-from-nick-saban/2/ ↩

  13. St. John, Warren Nick Saban: Sympathy for the Devil GQ Magazine. January 4, 2016 https://www.gq.com/story/coach-nick-saban-alabama-maniac ↩

  14. O'Keefe, Brian Leadership lessons from Alabama football coach Nick Saban Fortune. January 5, 2016 http://fortune.com/2012/09/07/leadership-lessons-from-alabama-football-coach-nick-saban/ ↩

  15. Holiday, Ryan (2015). The Obstacle Is The Way. /wiki/Ryan_Holiday ↩

  16. Dooley, Roger The Obstacle Is The Way Forbes. January 5, 2016 https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2014/06/04/the-obstacle-is-the-way/ ↩

  17. Schlabach, Mark How Jimmy Sexton became college football's ultimate power broker ESPN. January 5, 2016 https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/14239090/jimmy-sexton-college-football-power-broker-scenes ↩

  18. Holiday, Ryan Here’s the Strategy Elite Athletes Follow to Perform at the Highest Level New York Observer. January 5, 2016 https://observer.com/2015/12/heres-the-strategy-elite-athletes-follow-to-perform-at-the-highest-level/ ↩

  19. Miller, Kerry The Shaka Smart Effect on Full Display in Texas' Epic Upset over UNC Bleacher Report. January 5, 2016 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2598455-the-shaka-smart-effect-on-full-display-in-texas-epic-upset-over-unc ↩

  20. 'Trust the process': How Bears coach John Fox wants his team to grow Chicago Tribune. January 5, 2016 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-bears-trust-the-process-spt-0819-20150818-story.html# ↩

  21. Torre, Pablo The 76ers' plan to win (yes, really) ESPN. January 5, 2016 https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12318808/the-philadelphia-76ers-radical-guide-winning ↩

  22. Shanker, Jared [1] "ESPN". September 4 2016 https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17454945/jimbo-fisher-made-florida-state-own-notes-nick-saban ↩

  23. Baker, Matt Jim McElwain models Gators on Nick Saban's 'Process' Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Tampa Bay Times. January 5, 2016 http://web.tampabay.com/sports/college/jim-mcelwain-models-gators-on-nick-sabans-process/2256538 ↩