Where's Tarantino?

I’m not entirely sure why, but my YouTube algorithm serves me up a lot of videos about Quentin Tarantino.

Over the past few months, I’ve watched dozens of clips of the writer-director talking about his storytelling style, his scriptwriting techniques, and how to work with actors.

Whether you like his movies or not, there’s something about Tarantino that you cannot deny — his originality.

Whether it’s a heist movie like Reservoir Dogs or a World War II epic like Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino movies are instantly recognizable because of his distinctive style and storytelling approach.

His movies are known for their sharp dialogue, non-linear timelines, and gratuitous violence, as well as unique camera angles that provide a distinct and immersive experience for the audience.

In isolation these aren’t unique cinematic elements, but when meshed together they’re quintessentially Quentin.

Which got me thinking about the current state of coaching, and wondering:

Where’s Tarantino?

Where are our coaches who are known for their originality?
Where are our coaches who are doing something genuinely different?
Where are our coaches who are brave enough to make what they want to make?

Just like modern cinema, modern coaching is stuck in a state of safe monotony.

Fuelled by standardized best practices, standardized education, and standardized methodologies, being the same as everyone else has become the new gold standard.

‘Homogenous’ used to be a word we used to communicate our distaste at something that lacked any real colour or vigour or gumption. Now, apparently, homogenous is the goal.

When I ask around about who’s doing things differently in coaching, I’m usually directed towards one coach per league who has a slight tactical wrinkle to their game.

That’s what we’ve reduced our work down to; a slight tactical wrinkle.

No wonder owners and executives consider coaches to be interchangeable…we are!

It’s an unfortunate state that we find ourselves in.

But we must remember that the Dark Ages are followed by the Renaissance.

If this is to be our renaissance, we must be the conspirators in our own uprising. Afterall, it was the artists and scientists and philosophers of the time who bandied together to oppose dogmatic beliefs and give rise to the actual Renaissance.

They took control of their own destiny — and they did it together!

The reason we know the names Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Copernicus, Galileo, Columbus, Machiavelli, and Michelangelo is because they created original work during this period.

It was colourful, thoughtful, and progressive.

It was distinctive.

It was different.

They weren’t sitting around asking Where’s Tarantino? 

There were Tarantino’s everywhere.

I am steadfast in my belief that coaching craft is the centrepiece of our renaissance.

Not because I said so, but because craftsmanship is steeped in the idea of creating one-of-one pieces that — by default — are unique, different, and irreplaceable.

Craftsmanship actively stands against mass-production. It opposes the homogenous.

But to truly capture the craft that’s within us, we must not reduce ourselves down to a slight tactical wrinkle.

We must not accept the idea of ‘innovation’ being Thomas Tuchel moving England’s training time to the afternoon.

C’mon, guys! Is that all we’re capable of?

By my count, there are roughly 80-100 broad craft areas that a head coach influences on a daily basis. And that doesn’t include unexplored or under-explored areas of our sport, and our humanity.

This means that, conservatively, there are dozens upon dozens of opportunities to create something original, something different, something solely yours.

I’m challenging you — here and now — to go deep within yourself and connect to your boundless ocean of knowledge and ideas and desires and human potential.

Push yourself to find your originality.

Challenge yourself to create something different.

Be brave enough to make something you want to make.

I envision a coaching world where when I ask who’s doing things differently, I have to cut people off because they’ve got too many examples.

I envision a coaching world where owners and executives can’t bear to part ways with a coach because they offer so much more than a tactical wrinkle.

I envision a coaching world where we’re not sitting around asking Where’s Tarantino? 

Because there’s Tarantino’s everywhere.

We must never forget that we are in the competition industry. And in the competition industry being the same as everyone else cannot be the aspiration. It is difference that creates competitive advantage. And that difference comes from you.

So be different. Be original. Make the film you want to make.

Be Tarantino.

Some advice from Quentin: