A lead is not a win. And being down is not a loss.

I got the clearest reminder of that this weekend, in the last place I expected to find a business lesson…

A kids’ soccer field.

My son’s travel team was in trouble before the game even started. We were short-handed that day. A couple of kids were out, and the ones who suited up had to play more minutes than usual, some of them still fighting off or recovering from whatever was going around.

Then they went down 2-0 early.

And honestly, you’d forgive a group of seven and eight year olds for folding right there.

Down two, tired, short players. At that age most teams just let it go… First in the body language and then in the effort, and nobody watching would really blame them for it.

But they didn’t.

They fought the entire game.

Chased every ball, closed every gap, kept pushing even when the scoreboard said it wasn’t working.

And in the final eight minutes, it broke open. One goal. Then another. Then a third.

Three unanswered. They won it 3-2.

I was losing my mind on that sideline.

But once things settled, I realized I’d just watched a lesson that most grown adults still struggle with, playing out from a group of kids who were just too stubborn to quit.

Here’s the part people miss…
That comeback wasn’t just about my son’s team believing in themselves.

The other team thought they had it won.

They got comfortable. They assumed the two-goal lead would hold, eased off, and stopped playing like it was still a fight.

And in the span of a few minutes, the game they thought was theirs got taken right out of their hands.

I see this in business constantly. The quarter’s going well, the numbers look good, so people coast into the finish.

That’s exactly when it slips.
A lead is not a win. You play until the whistle, every time.

The flip side is the one that really stuck with me.

My son’s team had every excuse available to them. Any reasonable person would have understood if they’d mailed in the second half.

But they believed they still had it in them, and they believed in each other.

And that belief is the only reason they were still in a position to win when the opening finally came.

That’s the whole thing…
If you count yourself out, you guarantee the loss.

If you keep believing and keep working, you stay in it long enough for the break to come. Not every time. But you give yourself the chance, which is more than most people do.

There’s a reason the comeback is the best story in sports. We’re all drawn to it.

The team that was down and out, that found something extra, that refused to lose… It’s exciting and gives you something to root for.

So let me ask you the question I’ve been sitting with since Saturday…

If so, good. That just means you’re set up for a comeback.

And you’ve still got the final stretch of the year to write it.

Here’s where it gets practical.

A lot of comebacks in business come down to one thing. The right person, added at the right moment.

Wherever that soft spot is, that’s where your comeback starts. The strategic addition. The person who comes in and changes the trajectory of your whole next season.

And just like in that game, the opening won’t wait around.

The best people to lead your comeback are making their moves right now!

The window is open, but not for long.

So what actually makes someone a comeback player?

It’s not the resume. It’s not the years of experience or the list of skills.

Those matter, but they’re not what I saw on that field.

What those kids had was grit.

The refusal to fold when the score turned against them. No panic, no blame, no heads dropping.

Just calm, relentless work until they found a way back.

That’s the trait I’d put above almost everything else when you’re hiring for a comeback.

Skills get someone through the easy days.
Grit is what carries them, and your whole team, through the hard ones.

And here’s the good news. You can’t coach it in, but you can spot it before you hire.

There are real, reliable signals that tell you whether someone fights back or folds when things get tough.

I put the exact method I use into a simple one-page guide.

It walks you through how to spot grit in a candidate or anyone already on your team, using a free assessment. It’s yours, completely free.

Think about where you lost ground this year.

Be honest about it. The gap, the weak spot, the person you’re missing.

Name the one addition that would most change your trajectory heading into next year.

Then take the first real step toward it this week.

That’s how comebacks start. Not with a grand plan, but with one decision to stop accepting the score.

Never take your foot off the gas, because a lead is not a win.

Never count yourself out, because the moment you do, you guarantee the loss.

And remember that every great comeback started with someone who was down, and decided to fight anyway.

Wherever this year knocked you back, that’s exactly where your comeback begins.

One more thing, and there’s genuinely no catch to it.

If there’s a key role that would change your trajectory heading into next year, I’ll get on a call with you. We’ll figure out exactly who you need and how to land them before the year is out. No pitch, no pressure, no strings.

I normally charge $750 an hour for this. For readers of this newsletter, it’s free.

In this video, I break down the 5 traits that truly separate A players from average hires, using the same hiring framework I’ve used to evaluate and hire over 10,000 candidates across hundreds of businesses.
This is the exact Signature Method to Hiring A-Players, explained step by step so you can apply it immediately.

See you next Tuesday,

Jared Black
Founder, The Hire-archy

P.S. What’s your comeback story going to be? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.