Vince Lombardi

Biography

Vince Lombardi has a clear and inspiring message to share about the qualities and commitment found in a high performance people! A message which stems from a lifetime of experience and observation.

As the son of the late Vincent T. Lombardi, remembered as one of the greatest football coaches in history, Vince’s early years were spent in an atmosphere full of personal power and achievement.

Armed with honesty, integrity and authenticity, virtues he places above all others, Vince earned a law degree and maintained a private practice while serving the Minnesota legislature.

Vince made the jump from law and politics to professional football in 1975 when he joined the fledgling Seattle Seahawks as an assistant to the General Manager. He went on to become Assistant Executive Director of the National Football League Management Council as a labor negotiator and later led two United States Football League teams as President and General Manager.

To each of these organizations Vince brought direction, enthusiasm, and the impetus to succeed. He has the remarkable ability to put people ahead of the organization, allowing each individual to do what he does best without losing sight of team goals. He gained a reputation for being tough, yet fair; uncompromising, yet supportive. The individual qualities and character of Vince Lombardi are exciting to witness.

It is an emotional uplift to watch and listen to Vince Lombardi as he weaves together his childhood experiences with his father and his adult experiences for law, politics and professional football.

Vince Lombardi’s enthusiasm for growth, change and improved performance, blended with his strong personality and first-hand knowledge of his legendary father’s leadership techniques makes for a dynamic presentation.

Publications

As coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967, Vince Lombardi turned perennial losers into a juggernaut, winning back-to-back NFL titles in 1961 and 1962, and Superbowls I and II in1966 and 1967. Stern, severe, sentimental, and paternal, he stood revered, reviled, respected, and mocked--a touchstone for the '60s all in one person. Which adds up to the myth we've been left with. But who was the man? That's the question Pulitzer Prize-winner David Maraniss tackles. It begins with Lombardi's looming father, a man as colorful as his son would be conservative. Still, from his father Vince Lombardi learned a sense of presence and authority that could impress itself with just a look. If a moment can sum up and embrace a man's life--and capture the breadth of Maraniss's thoroughness--it is one that takes place off the field when the Packers organization decides to redecorate their offices in advance of the new head coach's arrival: "During an earlier visit," Maraniss reports, "he had examined the quarters--peeling walls, creaky floor, old leather chairs with holes in them, discarded newspapers and magazines piled on chairs and in the corners--and pronounced the setting unworthy of a National Football League club. 'This is a disgrace!' he had remarked." In one moment, one comment, Lombardi announced his intentions, made his vision and professionalism clear, and began to shake up a stale organization. It reveals far more about the man than wins and losses, and is the kind of moment Maraniss uses again and again in this superb resurrection of a figure who so symbolized a sporting era and sensibility.

Titles

High Performance People, What Do They Do and How Do They Do It?
Motivation, Commitment and Mental Toughness
Coaching for Teamwork
The Negotiation Game