Leadership Lessons from the Gridiron

• The metaphysics of “throwing blind.”
• How creative tension focuses your attention and ups your game.
• Why everyone on the team must be held accountable.

How do you complete a pass to Jerry Rice, who is wide open, when you can’t see over a wall of defensive linemen? In this fast-paced and highly entertaining Stanford video presentation, Steve Young explains that you can indeed complete a game-winning touchdown pass by learning to anticipate where Jerry Rice will be and then “throwing blind.” Solving a seemingly insurmountable problem with a workaround was an early lesson he learned as a young quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.

Giving us glimpses of his experience on the field—from ignominious interceptions to come-from-behind wins—with self-deprecating humor and passion for the game, Mr. Young shares his lifelong takeaways. How being pushed beyond his comfort zone by a tireless coach generated the creative tension needed to keep him focused and take his game to another level. How a large and diverse team that can surmount its cultural, racial, geographic and socio-economic differences will and be become the stronger team for it. And how individual accountability starts at the top and has to permeate the team in order for the team to succeed.

Mr. Young is a managing director and cofounder of Huntsman Gay Global Capital. A former quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers, he is the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history and in 2005 was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a JD degree from the College of Law as well as a BS in Finance and Political Science.