Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win?

TEN

The Hardball Mindset

To play the game of hardball to its fullest requires a hardball state of mind. In this book, we have not focused on such matters as personal coaching, skills building, or self-improvement. But, as our stories show—and as we know very well from our experience with clients—playing hardball entails more than strategy.

Hardball players possess a number of admirable characteristics. They have an intellectual toughness that enables them to face facts and see reality. They have an emotional awareness that means they know themselves, and their people, well. They are always dissatisfied with the status quo, no matter how fine things may seem, and they have the will to catalyze change. They’re tough, but they’re not bullies. They’re ...