It's My Turn To Say A Few Words About Greg Harden
There has been a lot said online lately about Greg Harden with the upcoming release of his new book Stay Sane In An Insane World, and now it’s my turn.
This isn’t a digital marketing piece, it’s a people piece. The people who influence you, help you, teach you, back you, love you along the journey of life. Greg is one of those people. And it’s appropriate for this blog because digital marketing for me has to be about people at the end of the day. Building community around a brand - and what is a community? It’s people isn’t it?
It’s My Turn To Say A Few Words About Greg Harden
Greg officially retired from the University of Michigan in 2019 as the Executive Associate Athletic Director, Student Athlete Health & Welfare but he still remains a consultant for the athletic department and I saw the proof of the impact he still has on the student athletes there when I saw sophomore QB Alex Orji’s eyes light up at the mention of Greg’s name when we were talking at a recent mentoring event I attended in Ann Arbor with the current football team. But my experience with Greg goes back to the 1980’s…
I Wanted To Follow That Man
Greg started working with the athletic department at Michigan as a consultant and counselor to student athletes in 1986 and I can’t totally remember if it was the summer of ‘86 or ‘87 when I first heard him speak at the Michigan summer football camp which would have been before my junior or senior year in high school, but regardless of which year it was I remember being mesmerized by him and the message he delivered. I was a pretty straight shooter in high school. Completely dedicated to being a student athlete and living on the straight and narrow - NO drugs, committing to no alcohol during football season, working hard, lifting, conditioning and the like. So I didn’t need a message to set me straight per se, but Greg motivated me to continue on that track, validating all the things I had committed to, and I suspect he turned some people in the old track and tennis building that day who might have been vulnerable to the wrong path. He gave the most powerful sermon on life I had seen to that point. I remember him talking about Len Bias and describing in harrowing detail how a bad decision to use cocaine the night after being selected #2 overall in the 1986 NBA draft gave him a heart attack and ended his life. Bias was on top of the world and it all ended in a flash. Greg talked about the opportunities we all had in front of us as high schoolers and he was just so inspiring! I can still picture that talk and I remember how I felt. Keep in mind I was already all in with anything Michigan. My older brother Jeff had played there from 1979-83 - I was 9 when he started so I grew up bleeding maize and blue. But this was the first time I’d heard of and seen Greg Harden and I wanted to follow that man.
In 1988 I enrolled at Michigan as a student in the school of LS&A and as an outside linebacker on the team and early on I got to meet Greg. He came and spoke to the freshmen which was pretty cool - to hear his message for us as we started down the exciting and challenging path as student athletes at Michigan. And he was the real deal with the same impact he had on me when I first saw him speak. Guys aren’t joking when they talk about the impact he’s had on them - check out this trailer for his new book:
Things were going reasonably well for me at Michigan by the fall of 1989 - my sophomore year. I had put on about 15 lbs. of muscle in the great Mike Gittleson’s strength program and I was starting to transition from outside to inside linebacker. I was also transitioning from getting my butt kicked to starting to kick a little (not a lot, but a little) butt back. And then, a few days before my 19th birthday we were scrimmaging at Michigan Stadium (“The Big House”) and I was playing OLB on the left side, the offense ran an off tackle play to my right, I folded towards the play and got hit from my left. I went falling towards the pile and someone landed on my left leg.
Pop.
I felt it in my knee and waited for the pain which oddly didn’t come but the pop was unmistakable. I went to the sideline and got an ice pack, walked up the tunnel after the scrimmage under my own power, got undressed and into the shower when the pain started. I couldn’t put any weight on it. After exploratory arthroscopic surgery they found a partial tear in my ACL and put me in a cast for 6 weeks. I often joke I must have had the very last cast for an ACL in the country. I’m convinced it was the cast more than the actual injury that prevented my return the following fall my junior year due to the massive amount of atrophy. The three months I spent on crutches were completely miserable.
Aside from my teammates the people who helped me the most during that time and I’ll never forget either one were Bo Schembechler (our legendary coach) who stopped what he was doing to walk with me from the meeting room inside of Crisler Arena to practice one day (the new football facility that would bear his name was under construction and the entire football operation was moved deep into the bowels of Crisler) and he assured me that these tough times I was going through would pass. That’s a conversation I’ll always cherish and never forget.
Greg Makes An Impact
The other person was Greg Harden. I went to his counseling office off campus at the time for a session one on one. We talked at length - he didn’t give me some canned therapy-speak and it wasn’t just a pep talk. He was plugged in and he talked to me about my strengths and how they would carry me through not just that year but for the rest of my life. He told me he thought one of my greatest attributes was that I was a chameleon - that I can fit in with anyone. A football team at that level draws talent from all races, creeds, regions, cultures and it’s made up of about 110 alpha males believe me... ha. The best of those teams are the ones who can come together and use those things as an advantage. To function as one. My well roundedness, my ability to embrace that, get along with and ultimately be a part of multiple friend groups on that roster would serve me well throughout my life. He also gave me a copy of I’m Okay You’re Okay - A thought-provoking book about how we develop the belief systems we have and how they shape the transactional nature of the relationships we have. It’s a good book that has sold 15 million copies, but it was really Greg’s observations and feedback that made the most impact.
See I knew that I was well rounded and I had friends in multiple friend groups. I knew I was a chameleon on some level. My dad was the same way - my dad knew how to engage with everyone. But now I really embraced it anew because Greg gave me license to do so. He observed it, articulated it and validated that it existed in me and that it was a strength I had. That was a powerful conversation - I’ve carried it with me my whole life in every endeavor. Heck when I was miserable in the corporate world it was probably the thing that saved me - being able to navigate a highly political and miserable existence even when I didn’t want to be there, and now that I’m an entrepreneur and business owner I’ve used it to great advantage with clients of all backgrounds, ages, nationalities, races, creeds, industries - I can relate to just about anyone and I love doing that. And on some level my love of doing that is informed by that conversation with Greg all those years ago.
I still go to Ann Arbor all the time and I bump into Greg often at games, and while Greg is a bit of a “celebrity” (hehe) you’d never know it. He’ll never “big time” you no matter who’s around. Always with a big smile, handshake and hug - always present. You can tell when guys are talking to you while looking around to see who else might be around. Not Greg. I’ve always found him to be sincere in his calling to make a difference - the genuine article, and I’m happy for him with the publishing of his new book. I look forward to reading it!
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com. You can also connect with Doug on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, and/or M10 Social on Twitter or Facebook, and check out his other biz www.VirtualPetcations.com while you’re at it!
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