Cultural Philosophy

Culture is the reason why great

organizations have sustained success.
Culture drives expectations and
beliefs. Expectations and beliefs drive
behavior. Behavior drives habits.
Habits create the future.
- Jon Gordon

RTB Characteristics
Adapted for National Trail from the
program philosophy and copyright of
P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan
University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
RTB is a philosophical system that
signifies all students are in this
together, and aims to build them into
high quality people.

Why a culture philosophy?

Since returning to NT and getting experience in
the classroom, on the athletic fields, and in the
community with our students, Ive had many
discussions with colleagues. In our discussions
and observations, WE mutually identified the
following as concern areas for many of our kids:
General negative attitude of self worth and
lack of confidence
General lack of systems in place, and lack of
support for each other as a student population
General lack of overall mental toughness and
resiliency

Aspects of Rowing
RoWEr

CREW

Leaders of
the program
- the GOAL
SETTER!

TEAM of
rowers Those

Top duties
are to
motivate
and
stimulate
kids

Become
people of
elite
character

accomplishin
g the goals

BOAT

COMPA
SS

OAR

Symbolizes
the
SACRIFICES
we all make
for each
other

This is the
GOAL set
forth by the
RoWEr

Represents
the ENERGY
we use

Sacrifice
own needs
to better
others

The goal
must be
made
exceptionall
y CLEAR for
Crew

Our core
values are
that energy

The NT
CORE VALUES to BUILD CHARACTER
for FAMILY building
There are 4 key words for our core
values that help us build a person of
high quality CHARACTER
Values that we stand by and qualities we
can base our life off of.

NATIONAL TRAIL RTB BLUEPRINT

VALUES

RESPONSIBIL
ITY

TRUST

BELIEF

BEHAVIORS

OUTCOMES

TAKING
ACCOUNTABILITY 24/7/365

100% HONESTY

LIFE SUCCESSES

RESPECTFUL
RELATIONSHIPS

SEEING AND
ACHIEVING
GOALS

ELITE ATTITUDE
AND CONFIDENCE
EVERY DAY

C
H
A
R
A
C
T
E
R

How do we evaluate each other?

There are 5 Ways of Evaluation for

people using the Row The Boat
culture philosophy

RTB EVALUATION SYSTEM

BAD
BCD
Behavior
Blame,
Complain,
Defend
Continual
effort/work
with these
kids is
required!

AVERA
GE
Followers!
Go with the
flow types

Average is
not good
enough
our goal is
make kids
more than
average

GOOD EXCELLE
NT

ELITE

Enough to
get by
behave well
enough
most of the
time

Above The
Line
behavior
consistently

Above the
Line
behavior all
the time!

Goal is to
have these
types RAISE
their level

These kids
are
intentional,
thoughtful,
purposeful,
selfless

Not many
will get here
but this is
the TOP
GOAL!

F.A.M.I.L.Y.
Acronym that symbolizes our culture and target
attitude
F Forget
A About
M Me
I I
L Love
Y - You
What is love? In our culture, LOVE =
SACRIFICE!!
How can I SACRIFICE for you to show you on a daily
basis that I Love You?

Coach/Teacher Implementation
Techniques and Tips
LIVE the philosophy
Be the EXAMPLE for your kids!

Create character/team building

activities that continually drive home
our RTB core values
Up your standards of expectations
USE THE VOCABULARY
SELL, SELL, SELL THE MESSAGE
(posters/shirts/etc.)

Vocabulary To Use
ROWER leader
RTB Row the Boat program abbreviation; also stands
for our NT values (responsibility, trust, belief)
FAMILY Forget About Me, I Love You (use OFTEN)
KEEP ROWING situations that call for perseverance
ROW Grind it out/stay the course
ELITE answer questions dealing with how youre
doing, etc., with ELITE; let the kids KNOW they can be
better than okay
HAPPY FRIDAY! studies show people are 13% happier
on Fridays, so why not always have a Friday attitude
everyday?
PREFONTAINE PACE never pace oneself