Welcome to Student of the Game: Brad Noll on Legacy, Communication, and Winning in Life
Leadership · From Student of the Game
Welcome to Student of the Game: Brad Noll on Legacy, Communication, and Winning in Life
Student of the Game is built on a simple promise: master the fundamentals, fall in love with practice, and win in the game of life. In the season premiere, host Brad Noll, owner of Noll Team Real Estate, explains where that promise comes from and what listeners can expect from the conversations ahead.
"I've been a student of the game for as long as I can remember," Brad says. "I was raised in the locker room." His father was a college basketball coach, Brad played for him, and he dreamed of the NBA. Now he brings that athletic experience, along with 20 years in business, to a show about how people win in every part of life. His core belief is short: in the game of life, relationships win.
Growing Up a Coach's Kid
When Brad was nine years old, his dad left a family business and the stability that came with it to chase his passion for coaching college basketball. His mom was all in, supporting a dream bigger than either of them. That decision gave Brad a front-row seat to practice, fundamentals, skill development, competition, leadership, winning, and losing.
Basketball, he says, was a game that found him. "It tortured me. It loved me. It always asked for my best." After college he made a conscious decision not to play professionally overseas and to begin a career in real estate instead, while his wife began her career in nursing.
The transition was not smooth. Even a business marketing degree had not prepared him for the real world, and as a young graduate he resented the things he felt his parents had not taught him. Years of reflection, and children of his own, changed that view completely. Like Mr. Miyagi, he says, his parents taught him everything he needed to know using a different lens. "I want to show you that everything you need is right underneath your feet."
“My hope for you, the listener, is that you will hear our conversations, and it will provide a framework, a path, encouragement, hope, and applications to live the life you desire.”
Brad Noll
Stay Curious, Because Success Leaves Clues
The goal of Student of the Game is to take the framework of success and failure and break down how others are winning. Brad believes that when we stay curious, we stop focusing on ourselves and start picking up cues from others.
In his own real estate business, he has learned more from doctors, attorneys, the music industry, hotel stays, and any memorable service provider than from almost anywhere else. He is always paying attention to great service and to business models that can be repeated.
Three Goals for the Podcast
Brad admits that all three goals might look selfish at first glance, but the intent is to serve:
- Create legacy content for his children, so they can hear what success and failure look like from people he admires.
- Learn to be a great communicator, because he believes great communicators win more than poor ones.
- Build a platform that gives a behind-the-scenes look at how the Noll Team works, so other business owners can learn from it.
On legacy, Brad and his wife, who met in the sixth grade after his family moved to Michigan for one of his dad's jobs, believe their purpose is to use the gifts God has given them to serve the people in front of them and to raise their children to become thriving adults. They believe it takes a village. A family trip on the winding road to Hana in Hawaii became his favorite metaphor for life: the end was neat, but the day-long journey was unforgettable.
On communication, Brad draws on his years at point guard, when his job was to make sure every teammate knew the play and was in the right spot. After helping more than 1,500 families, he has seen what poor communication does. "It confuses people," he says. "When communication breaks down, we lose."
Leading With Education in Real Estate
Real estate is unusual, Brad explains. When you go to the dentist, you see the dentist. In real estate, most of the work happens without the client in the room, and his team spends less than 20 percent of its time with clients. Their mission is to save clients time, reduce their stress, and help them keep as much money as they can.
Once a month, the show will bring on members of the Noll Team to highlight that unseen work, share best practices with the industry, and be honest about where the team has failed. After 20 years, Brad says, they still have plenty of room to grow, and he hopes listeners go further than they have.
Who Is Student of the Game For?
Brad pictures a wide audience: a new realtor, someone thinking about starting a business, a person with a passion who does not know where to begin, a leader of people in an office, or a student athlete still deciding what field to pursue. His goal is to build a library of useful information and to be considered one of the listener's team members.
The season is organized around what he calls the starting five: faith, family, fitness, finances, and following your passion. Along the way he plans to introduce some of his favorite people and share the systems his team has used to find success, so that listeners can win in the game of life.
▶ Listen to the full episode
Season Premiere: Student of The Game, on Student of the Game.
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