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Say what you will about Tom Brady, but there\u2019s no undercutting his singularity\u2014or the endless fascination with how he \u201cgets<\/a> it<\/a> done<\/a>\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n During his momentous football career, the longtime New England Patriots quarterback won seven Super Bowl rings\u2014the most of any player, ever\u2014and garnered a reputation for being fastidious and disciplined. (TB12<\/a>, anyone?)<\/p>\n In his second act, Brady has pivoted toward everything<\/a> from NFTs to FTX to sports commentating to, most recently, partnering with Delta Air Lines<\/a> as an advisor. He appeared opposite CEO Ed Bastian on Delta\u2019s Gaining Altitude podcast<\/a> this week to extol his virtues and values and reflect on what\u2019s put him ahead of the pack.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the key fundamentals to my personal success\u2014and our team\u2019s success, over a long period of time\u2014is that nobody was afraid of constructive criticism,\u201d Brady, 49, told Bastian. Criticism \u201creally means you cared about the other person. I always felt like the people that I cared about the most, I was going to have those tough conversations about what I thought they needed to do to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether that meant Brady noticed shoddy preparation for a game, or hot-and-cold emotional approaches, he said he almost thought it would be a disservice not to call his teammates out. And the team superstar wasn\u2019t immune. \u201cI wanted everyone to have that with me too; I had to be open to their constructive criticism. I got that from the owner, from the head coach, and from my position coach; I never wanted to feel like they couldn\u2019t coach me.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, it was critical for both Brady\u2019s bosses and peers to \u201cfeel like they were in a position of authority\u201d to tell him he needed to up his game. Granted, he may not have needed much coaching, particularly in his highest-performing, record-breaking years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe easy thing for me was to be like, Don\u2019t you understand? I\u2019m Tom Brady. I won this before. I\u2019ve been MVP,\u201d he remarked. \u201cBut that\u2019d be the worst thing to do.\u201d Fearing an echo chamber, where all that his peers and coaches did was indulge him, Brady told Bastian he made a point to ensure everyone in his midst knew he was open to criticism.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always one of the teammates. I needed to relate to all the guys,\u201d Brady said. \u201cMaybe I did develop a higher standard of performance over a period of time, but I was lucky, because I had a lot of experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That divide led Brady to his main ethos, to which he credited his ongoing success: Never getting jaded. \u201cSome of these guys were brand new, but I wanted them to treat me like it was my first day on the job, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Part and parcel of a first-day-on-the-job mentality is maintaining balance, he added. \u201c\u201dIt\u2019s always about regulating the inputs and outputs; when I really need to put out a lot of energy and emotion, I had to make sure I had it left in the tank,\u201d he said. \u201cI really had to make sure I was conscious about what I was doing the day before the game and what I was doing after the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As the undisputed star, Brady said his teams\u2014and fans\u2014needed him consistently at 100% in focus, determination, concentration and energy. That calls for the right food, the right hydration, the right bodywork, and critically, \u201cthe right people around me.\u201d Ideally, people who can call him out when he\u2019s slacking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n