Page 21 - The EDGE Fall 2022

Ex-NASCAR Crew Chief Larry McReynolds Tells How to Win
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
He cited this quote from another NASCAR crew
chief, Gary Nelson, who said: “There is no one
smarter than all of us working together.”
Even if you’re the smartest person in the room,
just think how much more you can accomplish
with a team, McReynolds said. Don’t try to make
everybody happy, just make the person you’re
working for happy, he said.
“No matter what you do in life – driving a school
bus or working in the cafeteria – it’s all about
the people,” McReynolds said. “The difference
between winning and losing is the people.
Sometimes egos get too big. People lose sight of
working together. The more success you have, the
bigger that ego can become a problem.”
“No matter what you do in life –
driving a school bus or working
in the cafeteria – it’s all about the
people. The difference between
winning and losing is the people.”
Larry McReynolds
McReynolds called conversation the most
important word in the English language. Many
relationships fail because of bad communication or
a lack of communication, McReynolds said. “Bad
communication is worse than no communication,”
he said. “It gets to the point of telling someone
what they want to hear.”
He also cautioned against assuming someone
knows how to do something. “You’re going down
the wrong road – it’s not going to work,” he said.
When he was a crew chief, initially if something
went wrong there was a tendency to want to know
whose fault it was. But McReynolds said he
adopted a philosophy of asking: “What can we do
as a group to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Don’t blame anyone. Fix the system.”
When someone on your team does a good job,
reward them based on their contribution, even if
it’s just a pat on the back. “We love that pat on the
back,” McReynolds said. “It’s amazing how far
that pat on the back will go.”
He also told AASBO members not to be afraid of
change, doing things differently. “Think outside
the box,” he said. “Leaders aren’t afraid of change.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over
again and expecting a better result. It’s not going
to happen. Change is an opportunity for growth.
When you acknowledge a problem, you can fix it.
When you don’t acknowledge a problem, that’s
when it becomes a detriment.”
Other pieces of advice from McReynolds: Focus
on things you can control, not on the past. Set
realistic goals. Don’t hold a grudge. Work smart,
not hard. “Measure twice and cut once,” he said.
“Measure once and cut twice – that’s not very
productive.”
Larry McReynolds can be reached at: larrymcreynolds.com
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