To hear the famed Alabama football coach Nick Saban tell it, one of the biggest challenges that an individual or a team can face is not the failure that delivers disappointment, but the success that encourages complacency, Saban told attendees today at the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Link2026 trade show.
That principle holds true in every pursuit, whether it’s business, sports, or life, Saban said as he shared lessons on leadership in a keynote address with an auditorium full of logistics professionals.
The greatest peril of achieving success is that it can lead to “relief syndrome,” which he defined as the tendency to rest on one’s laurels after a victory. “I see people struggle with success more than failure,” he said. “If you think that what you’ve done in the past is going to affect what you’re planning to do in the future, then you’re infected with success.”
To illustrate the point, Saban cited two examples that happened on his own watch, when on two separate occasions, the Alabama football team went on 19-game winning streaks, and then lost in the 20th game to an inferior opponent.
Overcoming that pattern is difficult because it’s human nature to seek comfort, and to put up your feet and rest after achieving a modest goal. “To get past that, you need the ability to challenge yourself even when you have success. But it’s not human nature to do that; it’s not normal,” Saban said.
To avoid “relief syndrome,” people must learn how to self-assess their own progress toward their goals, as opposed to reacting to external conditions, he said. And a critical tool to gain that skill is to be consistent in following a process of self-improvement, not aiming for outcome-oriented results, Saban said.
Considering his fame as a football coach, Saban looked outside of his own sport for inspiration, sharing quotes from two basketball players that highlight his philosophy. He quoted Kobe Bryant as saying “You have to learn how to edit yourself to be the best you can be.” And he cited Michael Jordan as saying “Because I fail is why I succeed.”
