Story by Jason Cummins
After a disappointing 3–9 campaign in 2021, Nebraska’s former title-winning quarterback and then current head football coach found himself in a precarious position. After four unsuccessful seasons, his winning percentage was .340, the worst of any full-time Nebraska coach since the Eisenhower administration. So, Scott Frost retooled his staff and even made personal salary concessions, but the results did not improve in his fifth season. Through the first three weeks of 2022, Nebraska’s only win was over FCS North Dakota.
On September 11, 2022, Nebraska fired Frost. The decision by Athletics Director and former Cornhusker football star, Trev Alberts, resulted in a hefty $15 million buyout payable to Frost. Interestingly, had Nebraska waited until October 1 to make the same decision, the university would have saved $7.5 million, or 50% of the buyout.
Like many observers, I questioned the decision. Why not wait just three weeks and save $7.5 million? The sizable chunk of change could have been applied toward numerous other financial needs within Nebraska athletics. Moreover, how would such a decision be received by the hundreds of department staffers making far (far!)less than Nebraska’s high-profile coach?
Several weeks later, I shared dinner with a good friend and hall of fame athletics director, and I asked him what he thought of the Nebraska decision, anticipating some form of validation for my personal feelings. He surprised me with, “The mistake was not in firing him on Sep 11, but rather in not firing him at the end of last season.”
My friend referenced a newspaper article he’d read as a young leader in the field — one that he cut out and has since kept posted within eyeshot. The article contained this quote from Henry Kissinger:
“Whatever must happen ultimately should happen immediately.”
In my friend’s opinion, the previous year’s contract amendments and staff changes would do very little to right a sinking ship. As we like to say, past behaviors are the best predictors of future performance, and four years of Nebraska’s mediocrity provided little optimism heading into year five.
In his seminal work, The Servant as a Leader, Robert Greenleaf wrote:
“On an important decision one rarely has 100% of the information needed for a good decision no matter how much one spends or how long one waits. And, if one waits too long, he has a different problem and has to start all over. This is the terrible dilemma of the hesitant decision maker.”
To be clear, leaders are paid to make decisions. The more senior the leader you are, the more costly the decision in terms of time, talent, and treasure. Moreover, there will always be someone who disagrees with your decision — if not, you know that the action should have already occurred at a lower organizational level. Scrutiny simply comes with the territory.
So, moving forward, when the eventual outcome of a situation begins to crystalize, don’t delay. Hesitation leads to destruction. Make the courageous decision today that will ultimately be made tomorrow.
Remember: A difficult decision made today is a courageous one, whereas that same decision made tomorrow is simply a required one.
The Demand of Decisions was originally published in Horizon Performance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
