FRISCO, Texas – Using examples from sports and business, Ross Bernstein schooled student transportation leaders on the Champion’s Code. 

Author of over 50 books and a speaker on every continent – even Antarctica – Bernstein drew from his experience in locker rooms, press boxes, dugouts and sidelines to demonstrate that “being a champion is about doing the little things the right way.”  

Amid meetings with vendor partners brainstorming solutions to everyday operational challenges, tables of student transporters discussed Bernstein’s takeaways during Day 2 of the Transportation Director Summit on Thursday, an STN EXPO staple new this year at the Transporting Students with Disabilities (TSD) and Special Needs Conference and Trade Show.

Four Essential Soft Skills  

“People choose to do business with, to buy from, to be led by” people who are passionate, kind, generous and consistent, Bernstein declared.  

“You can’t fake passion,” he said, as exhibited by Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins and his unbounded fervor for baseball. “If you’re not really, truly, authentically passionate about what you do, then you might need to think about what you do.”  

Bernstein illustrated the critical principle of compassion through two college softball team captains who assisted a rival player to finish rounding the bases after she became injured. Compassion, empathy and kind-heartedness are also crucial in attracting new school bus drivers from Generations Z and Alpha, he noted. 

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was the National Hockey League’s all-time leader in goals, but he had twice as many assists in which he helped another player score a goal, Bernstein revealed. Gretzky’s humble leadership and dedicated mentorship further shaped an effective team.  

Love him or hate him, Bernstein stated, “there was no off season” for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, whose consistency, enthusiasm and meticulousness helped him overcome failures and net him seven National Football League Super Bowl championship rings. 

Business and transportation could take a page from sports, Bernstein emphasized, utilize a focused game plan, a data-based playbook and accountability for underperforming players.

“If you’re not there consistently showing up with passion and compassion, you don’t have successful teams that are serving our kids,” concurred STN Transportation Director of the Year Laura Hill, the general manager of transportation for Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida, who was in attendance.  

Five Leadership Principles from Sports  

Bernstein advised the transportation directors, managers and supervisors to incorporate focus, trust, respect, goal setting and humility.  

Like American football players performing in cold climates they’re not accustomed to or student transporters dealing with everything from pandemics to rising fuel prices to government shifts to AI, mental toughness and focusing on only what you can control are crucial, Bernstein shared.  

One of the “winningest” coaches in college basketball history, Pat Summitt, won eight national championships with the University of Tennessee by recruiting the right players, not the best players, Bernstein noted. He said she also demonstrated how important it is to shift leadership techniques from old-school aggression and yelling to modernized culture-based strategies of connection, respect and praise.  

Baseball “clubhouse guys” like Harmon Killebrew of Bernstein’s hometown Minnesota Twins hold teams together by urging team members toward excellence in things as small as signing baseballs legibly, “making sure little problems don’t turn into big problems.” Pupil transportation teams similarly need someone reminding colleagues to follow safety guidelines and treat each other with respect, he added.  

Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Vonn exemplifies purpose and goal setting, Bernstein shared, by constantly shattering skiing records at every turn and moving into a new phase post-knee injury during which she mentored the proficient Mikaela Shiffrin, who has the most FIS Alpine Ski World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history.  

“Nobody wants to work with or be led by an arrogant, narcissistic jerk,” Bernstein quipped. He termed track and field champion Emma McGowan, who is also a special needs school bus driver, a “true professional” who refrains from antics and credits training for her wins. 

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Modernizing Business Best Practices  

Bernstein urged student transporters in attendance to be adaptable and get creative to succeed in a modernizing digital age.  

Adapting to change is key, as student transporters quickly learned when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and as they are learning now in the age of AI. “It’s about thinking differently – the old style of business is changing,” he said.

Hotels adapted in eco-friendly and inclusive ways to attract millennials and avoid losing customers to Airbnb. Similarly, Bernstein said, school district bus operations must adapt to the sensibilities of their Gen Z and Gen Alpha customers.  

He said creative strategies that have worked for him include connecting on a personal level with clients and having a social media strategy.  

“Be a cheerleader for your customers and prospects, those families, those communities,” he encouraged.  

The Power of Storytelling  

“Not everybody wins a trophy. Sometimes you’ve got to deal with stuff,” Bernstein said.  

He shared his experiences with U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame coach Herb Brooks of Disney movie “Miracle on Ice” renown, encouraging attendees to find silver linings and tell stories to make connections for better service to students.  

While never achieving his goal of playing on the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers hockey team, Bernstein became the “Goldie the Gopher” mascot and launched his author career with a book about Brooks’ team, which he wrote in college with the coach’s help.  

Following Brooks’s death in in a car crash, proceeds from Bernstein’s biography “America’s Coach” go toward a hockey organization for underprivileged youth. 

Brooks also acknowledged unsung behind the scenes staff, as Bernstein encouraged attendees to do with their school bus drivers, attendants and mechanics. 

“The name of the front of the jersey is always more important than the name on the back of the jersey,” Brooks once told Bernstein. “Always ‘we’ and ‘us,’ never ‘I’ and ‘me.’”  

While considering the legacy left by sports legends, Bernstein shared that a recent cancer diagnosis refocused him on living life to the fullest.  

“Remember, individuals win games, but it takes a whole team to win a championship,” he concluded.  

Photos by Tyler Davis. 

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