Paul J. Sullivan

Clutch Named A Best Book of 2010

Strategy + Business has named Clutch to the magazine’s list of the best business books of 2010, praising it for exploring “how to shine when the stakes and the pressure to perform are high”.

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Rodgers Comes Through in the Clutch

If I had been a betting man I would have put my money on Aaron Rodgers to deliver a great clutch performance on Sunday. Instead, when I went on NPR’s Weekend Edition, I hedged a bit. I talked about how Rodgers had led the Green Bay Packers through five, pressure-filled games, having to win all of them to get to the Super Bowl. The key in the big game was to stay focused not on that game but on each play, to never be distracted by the stakes of that game. Yet Ben Roethlisberger had the upper hand. He had been to the Super Bowl twice and won both times. I define clutch as the ability to do what you can do normally under pressure, and by that measure, the Super Bowl was as normal for Roethlisberger and the Steelers as any national championship could be. In the end, Rodgers and the Packers won because they were more focused and disciplined – they kept making the right plays. Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin said as much after the game. Have a listen to the NPR interview.

5 Comments  |  Permalink  |  Posted in Clutch, Football, Sports

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  1. Tweets that mention Rodgers Comes Through in the Clutch / Blog // Paul Sullivan - NY Times Columnist and Author of Clutch -- Topsy.com  |  February 9th, 2011

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wayne Ogle, Paul Sullivan. Paul Sullivan said: New blog post: Rodgers Comes Through in the Clutch: http://tinyurl.com/4zxzow8 [...]

  2. Alec Haverstick  |  February 10th, 2011

    Okay, Paul. Most of us love sports; many of us love football and some of us watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. But its time to go beyond Clutch in sports to being Clutch in world affairs. You’re a great thinker and I am a big fan. And you may be optimizing sales but not your potential impact. Expand!!! Who’s being clutch around Egypt, around the economy or around politics. If our leaders aren’t clutch, why are they our leaders. Aaron Rodgers is more likely to end up a spoiled ex-athlete than a leader of the country. Let’s talk about something else!!! Your friend, Alec

  3. Stephen Kahn  |  February 17th, 2011

    What Alec said! Try something new. Maybe your next book can show us how to save civilization. Focus. You’ve got discipline. You can do it.

  4. Stephen Kahn  |  March 29th, 2011

    I presume you are busy on an interesting and worthwhile project. I am old so have nothing better to do than post silly comments. I was just reading your interview with and obituary of Kurt Vonnegut. I really enjoyed them and they made me nostalgic. In high school I read Player Piano and loved it. For many years I was a big fan of his writing. Reading your two (interesting) articles about him fills me with nostalgia. You are a good writer and I look forward to reading your next work if I live that long. As Kurt said, life is becoming.

  5. Stephen Kahn  |  April 11th, 2011

    I have never played golf and never been a fan. However, reading a brief summary of what happened at the Masters seems like a perfect example of what you have written about Clutch and Choke.

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