At Clarkson, we know that great teamwork is critical to consistent project execution. Studying the best teams in sports makes us a better team in everything we do.
Despite Sunday’s loss to Kansas City, it’s natural to ask, “what’s the secret of the Green Bay Packers?”
Of course you know about the Packers’ Pro Bowl talent: Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson. But do you know Mike Eayrs? Mike is the Packers Director of Research and Development.
Aaron Rodgers gets the headlines. But Mike Eayrs gets the players' attention with motivating stories.
It’s Eayrs who studies an opponent’s tendencies and even researches how each referee calls certain situations. But there’s more to the man than just game analysis.
According to a great article by Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Eayrs’ is a master motivator. You’ll enjoy this quick story:
It was the middle of training camp and the Green Bay Packers were starting to ache. Even with Mike McCarthy’s player-friendly schedule, deep fatigue had set in from long practices and longer meetings. But the lockout meant the Packers needed to keep working. McCarthy turned to a little-known, in-house expert for help.
Mike Eayrs stood in front of the weary players and talked about people who had survived shipwrecks.
“And the amazing thing was it was rarely the most physically fit people who survived,” Eayrs told them. “Mental toughness was much more important than physical condition in terms of shipwreck survival.
“And the will to survive and the will to succeed are very close.”
