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Dumb Luck: A Poor Substitute For Sound Strategy

And so the maddeningly mediocre Chicago Bears beat the woeful Cleveland Browns last Sunday. Big deal. Neither team could beat USC.

What's more interesting than the final score is Bears coach Lovie Smith's reaction to fan frustration with "da team's" performance. Paraphrasing Lovie, a win is a win is a win, no matter what.

He's wrong.

Sometimes it matters more HOW you win. Despite playing DOWN to the level of arguably the league's worst team, the Bears achieved victory when, in some mysterious combination, dumb luck met a mistake-prone opposition. Fine. It happens that way occasionally. Call it winning by drifting into it.

But drift shouldn't be confused with possessing some basic competence, or creating and executing an intelligent plan, game after game, against good teams and bad. Call it winning by design.

Just like changes in your own organization's opportunities and threats, the Bears' opposition changes next week - to a team with a clue and a quarterback. I'm betting drift and dumb luck will be exposed for what they are.


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