Super Bowl XLVIII was a blowout. There are no two ways about it. Seattle dominated Denver. Hundreds of sports casters were baffled by Seattle’s incredible performance, they are still shaking their heads trying to figure out how they managed to win so handily, especially against the NFL’s number one offense. The answer is simple, and you don’t have to be a professional football analyst to understand it. The game was won when Seattle won the coin toss.

Sure, Denver botched the first snap which resulted in a safety. And yeah, Seattle then scored a field goal on the very next drive to go up by five points in under five minutes. Both of those plays, and the resulting momentum gained by Seattle, only occurred because of the coin toss. Instead of receiving the first kick off and starting on offense, they chose to kick off to Denver and play defense first. Seattle was INTENTIONAL about this choice. They knew that their defense was their greatest strength. Pete Carroll came into the game knowing his team, their talents and how to use their strengths to their advantage. The result was the third largest point differential in Super Bowl history.

Do you know your strengths? Are you intentional about playing to your strengths? Do you know the strengths of your team? How could you use the strengths of those around you to maximize your productivity? How would your life change? How would your business change? Could you make it to the playoffs? Win the Super Bowl?

Understanding yourself and your team is the first step to creating INTENTIONAL leadership. An inventory of your team’s talent is the starting point from which to improve. Seattle did it. You can do it!

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