Beyond Talent: Stu Crum On The Mindset and Disciplines of Professional Athletes
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Faith — Everyday I wake up and start with prayer. Prayer prepares me for the day. Prayer also is a great way to center my focus on others and not just me. I don’t need to preach my faith; people should see a difference by the way I act and live out my daily life.
In the world of sports, talent is abundant but individual greatness is defined by a unique mindset and steadfast discipline. In this series, we go one-on-one with athletes who raise the bar not just in skill, but in mental preparation and routine discipline. We’ll explore their thought processes and uncover the reasoning behind the specific habits that give them an edge. Prepare for a deep dive that could reshape how you approach discipline and mental resilience. This isn’t just about the game; it’s a blueprint for achieving peak performance in life. I had the honor of interviewing Stu Crum.
Stu is the interim CEO of Drive Automotive, former CEO of True Blue Car Wash, former President and Chairman of Bridgestone/Firestone Retail operations, and former President and Chairman of Jiffy Lube International. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tulsa, where he attended on a football scholarship before spending three years as a professional place kicker in the NFL and USFL.
Stu and his wife Mia have been married for 39 years and reside in Spring, Texas. They have two grown married children in Houston and 4 granddaughters.
Thanks for being part of this series. Let’s jump in and focus on your early years. Can you share who was your biggest influence when you were young and provide specific examples of what you learned from them that helped shape who you’ve become and how you live your life today?
My formative years were influenced by an organization, more than through specific people, though many of the people associated with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) had a huge impact on my life. I loved competing at a very early age and found that I had specific gifts early on. However, it was through FCA that I realized that integrity and character mean a lot more than wins and losses. I learned through FCA that I can unite my two passions of faith and athletics. Winning is fun and important, winning at all costs is not the be all to end all. We can sometimes learn how to win even more when you learn how to lose the right way.
Staying on the topic of influence, who has been your biggest catalyst more recently and what can you share that you’ve learned from them that led you to making changes in your life?
As an athlete I learned about discipline and hard work. I learned about making sacrifices to get better. As an adult I took the lessons of hard work, discipline, sacrifice, and the desire to win into my business life. I have always been a student of people and life and unlike our culture, I never measured my success by material wealth. My success is measured by the lives I have touched and mentored, my happy and fulfilling marriage, and the joy of parenting my children and watching them parent my grandchildren.
Resilience is a hallmark of high performers, especially in the world of athletics. Could you share the hardest thing you experienced as an athlete, how you dealt with it, what you learned, and the overall impact it’s had in your life?
My senior year in college I was ranked as one of the top placekickers in the country. A week before our opening game, in an unusual accident, I detached my retina and had to redshirt (miss) my senior year. As a result of my surgery, I learned how to deal with extreme disappointment and setbacks. I also learned that you can make lemonade out of lemons. I was able to graduate that year, start graduate school the next season, and play on a nationally ranked team (year 5). I learned that through hardship comes victory as well. I was drafted by the New York Jets and experienced game- winning field goals and more blessings than I could ever have imagined.
Can you share the single most significant sports moment or achievement from your career and provide some context around why it’s your most significant highlight? We will stick to college still.
A nationally televised game vs our in-state rivals Oklahoma State pitted the small private University of Tulsa vs large public Oklahoma State University. We won 25 -15 in a nationally televised game and I kicked 4 FG’s….one of 57 yards and another from 50 yards and two 35 yarders. I was named Chevrolet player of the game (How many kickers are ever named the MVP…never 😊).
You’re clearly driven by a specific set of disciplines that guide you. Can you share your top five that you personally prioritize and how they influence your daily routine?
1. Faith — Everyday I wake up and start with prayer. Prayer prepares me for the day. Prayer also is a great way to center my focus on others and not just me. I don’t need to preach my faith; people should see a difference by the way I act and live out my daily life.
2. Intentional — The greatest joy about being a CEO is being an intentional leader. Leading with a clear set of objectives but also with understanding and a heart of compassion. Each person is different and requires a separate set of tools to support and lead them. Success doesn’t happen by accident. You must be thoughtful and intentional about all the things you do
3. Integrity/character — Do what you say and say what you do. Stand for a set of principles and do not compromise. Uncompromised success!!
4. Inspirational — Setting a vision for a business and inspiring others to follow is one of the greatest joys in leadership.
5. Resilience — Any great prize fighter gets knocked down…the greatest of the great get back up and keep fighting until the end. It’s not always about the win but about how you go about the battle.
Nobody’s perfect. Share an instance where taking on too much served as a critical lesson that you learned from. What happened and how did you respond?
As the Director of Marketing at Shell Oil, I wanted to make a difference for my customers, teammates, and leadership. Accordingly, I was trying to do too much, and I was wearing out the people around me. One day my boss came into my office and put a postPost-Iit note on my forehead with the word “no” and walked out of my office. 10 minutes later I walked into his office and asked what “no” meant. He explained that I had to learn to say “no” to some things…that I can’t do everything all at once. Sometimes we must learn to slow down to eventually speed up.
Discipline can be a solo endeavor, but successful people tend to “borrow” other people’s disciplines. Can you share some specific examples of some of your disciplines that your teammates have picked up and the difference it made for them?
I have always lived by the saying “steal shamelessly.” It simply means, if you see something that someone else is doing that is best in class, don’t be shy about copying the same idea/practice.
I am not sure if it’s as much of a discipline as it is a way of working, but I believe if you walk your talk, others will follow. I believe in a family-first culture. If you put your family and the families of others first, the team you are leading will work harder and be more committed because they know you have their back. It permeates through an entire organization and ultimately the team becomes a family unit.
Measuring discipline can be tricky. How do you track or assess how your discipline impacts your results? Do you track or keep a scorecard of any of your daily habits or disciplines?
Over the last 40 years, I have managed/led a retail business. Retail The retail businesses have a daily set of KPI’s/scorecard. That scorecard measures several different metrics. One of the most effective things I have done over the years is to have league tables. A league table is simply a daily/weekly/monthly scorecard that measures each teams /person’s performance against each other’s set of KPI’s. Most people love to compete and almost all people love recognition. The scorecard can accomplish and do both on a regular basis. It creates competition and creates a recognition vehicle!!
Ever found yourself at a crossroads, where your commitment to discipline clashed with other realities in your life, like team dynamics or short-term goals? How did you handle it and what was the outcome?
I was once told by a board member that I was too nice. That I was too nice in the way I managed my business, that I wasn’t tough enough on my people. In a sense, the board member was telling me that I had to be an “ass” to be a successful leader. His idea of leadership and my idea of leadership clashed. I had to stand my ground on my leadership style and not give in to what someone else thought was a more compelling leadership style. Nice guys can finish first!!
Reflecting on your athletic journey, what’s one thing you would go back and do differently if given the chance?
I wouldn’t have left the NFL for the USFL. I took the more comfortable path that ultimately led to my demise as a professional athlete because the USFL folded and I missed my window.
When it comes to pursuing the highest level in your sport, what valuable advice could you give someone that you wish someone would have told you?
Never stop believing.
If we were sitting together two years from now, looking back at the past 24 months, what specifically has to happen for you personally and professionally, for you to be happy with your results?
If I have a set of teammates whose lives were changed in a positive way as a result of working under my leadership. Did I ultimately make a difference in the lives of the people I worked with?.
Finally, where can fans and fellow athletes follow your journey of talent and discipline?
Stucrum.com
This was great. Thank you so much for the time you spent sharing with us.
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
