Process thinking, also known as "the process", is a philosophy that emphasizes preparation and hard work over consideration of outcomes or results, and is particularly popular in professional sports.St. John, Warre
Nick Saban: Sympathy for the Devil
''GQ Magazine''. January 4, 2016 Practitioners of process thinking focus on the present instead of

past The past is the set of all events that occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience ...

events or future outcomes, and believe that all actions one takes in life, regardless of how trivial they may seem, affect the desired outcome. The philosophy was popularized by

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

History

The step-by-step mechanism of process thinking is a prominent part of cognitive behavioral thinking, which was developed by psychiatrist

Aaron Beck Aaron Temkin Beck (July 18, 1921 – November 1, 2021) was an American psychiatrist who was a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.

. In the 1960s, Beck developed a therapy which relies on the idea that thoughts affect feelings, and that good mental habits are systematically built up one step at a time.

Use in coaching

Nick Saban formulated process thinking as it pertains to

with the help of

psychiatry Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Lionel Rosen while Saban was the head coach at Michigan State University.Holiday, Rya
Here’s the Strategy Elite Athletes Follow to Perform at the Highest Level
''New York Observer''. January 5, 2016 Saban and Rosen broke down complicated tasks like football games—and entire seasons—down into smaller, more manageable pieces. Rosen emphasized that the average football play lasts only seven seconds so coaches and players should concentrate only on those seconds, take a rest between plays, then do it all over again. During his time with

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, and later the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

, Saban refined this systematic approach and extended it to include all aspects of managing a football program, which he calls "the process." A key element of Saban's process, often stylized "The Process", is clearly defined expectations for his players not only on the field, but also academically and personally (including a dress code), which are monitored year-round. Nick Saban's Process featured in

Ryan Holiday Ryan Holiday (born June 16, 1987) is an American author, modern Stoic, public-relations strategist, owner of the Painted Porch Bookshop and host of the podcast ''The Daily Stoic.'' Prior to becoming an author, he served as the former director of ...

's ''

The Obstacle Is the Way ''The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph'' is the third book by author Ryan Holiday. It was published in 2014. It is a book which offers individuals a framework to flip obstacles into opportunities, an approach c ...

'', where it drew comparisons to

Stoic philosophy Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that t ...

. Saban has led his teams to numerous conference championships and seven

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

, six of them with Alabama and one with LSU. Much of the credit for Saban's sustained success has been given to the Process. Other coaches, players and general managers such as Head Coach of the Chicago Bears John Fox, Texas A&M Aggies Football coach Jimbo Fisher and

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

head basketball coach Shaka Smart have also asked their teams to “follow the process.”

Prominent practitioners

Sam Hinkie Samuel William Wallace Hinkie (born December 1977) is an American businessman and former basketball executive who served as the general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2013 to 2016. Hinkie ...

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

* John Fox * Jimbo Fisher *

Jim McElwain James Frank McElwain (born March 1, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Central Michigan University. He previously served as the head coach at Florida from 2015 to 2017, and Colorado State from 2012 to 2014, wh ...

Baker, Mat
Jim McElwain models Gators on Nick Saban's 'Process'
''Tampa Bay Times''. January 5, 2016 * Shaka Smart * Matt Campbell

References

{{Reflist

History

Use in coaching

Prominent practitioners

See also

References

Further reading