Notes on the Book Top Dog

Hey, I said I would start reading more and vacation has allowed me to finish my first book of 2016. It is entitled Top Dog: the Science of Winning and Losing by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman. I strongly recommend it and will probably refer to it in future posts as I think it validates the educational reasons for requiring sports at our school.

Here are some of my notes.

Practicing is not the same as competing – you have to learn to perform when it counts – to manage the pressure – to not wilt in competition. So years and years of practice are not automatically enough.

The winner is never who practiced more but who competes better. The ability to avoid being paralyzed by fear and the capacity to focus ones attention. To survive we need to cultivate a competitive fire.

Top Dog is ultimately about that competitive fire: what it is and how to get it.

There are two kinds of competitiveness

Adaptive Competitiveness – characterized by perseverance and determination to rise to the challenge – bounded by respect for the rules – it’s the ability to feel genuine satisfaction at having put in a worthy effort even if you lose. 1) HEALTHY striving for excellence 2) Not a desperate concern over rank 3) Leads to heroic performance that inspire us

Maladaptive Competitiveness – gives competition its bad name. 1)  psychological insecurity 2) displaced urges 3) can’t accept losing 3) competes when others around him are not competing

Success in competition requires taking risks that are normally held back by fear. The first risk is entering – those who focus on what they will win compete far more.

Becoming better at competing means understanding and controlling psychological state. If you can control your fear then you control your biology.

Some people need to stay calm but others need to be highly aroused or even angry. As well there are two types of people – those that need to avoid stress to do well and those who need stress to perform their best. Many experts feel we are either Worriers or Warriors based on our genetic make-up. Each temperament has different advantages in the competitive environment. 

To keep competitive fire burning need to keep the competition close. “How we compare ourselves to other individuals is the engine that drives how we compete against others” – Garcia  (Key here is to make the competition smaller – the smaller the competition the better we do.)

By framing the race to be among fewer competitors the athletes try harder. The narrowing of focus is like the annual rivalry game where even if a team has a losing record they can salvage their season by winning the rivalry game.

Researchers have found that the more people focus on their odds of winning the less likely they’ll go for it. But the more they focus on what they’ll win if they succeed, the more likely they’ll go for it.

Fear of mistake triggers prevention orientation. Prevent catastrophe rather than initiate success. Most competitors perform better in challenge situations. Reframe a task from a threat to a challenge helps. Example is the kid who competes well in the practice and then when competing against strangers does not play well. As a coach learn to create a challenge out of the unfamiliar will help this athlete manage the unfamiliar. 

The latter half of the book examines politic, academic, business and athletic competitions as well as team dynamics. The book is well worth the read especially if your interested in winning and losing like I am.