INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Ballard considers the ability to know when it's time to move on from a player a strength.
Mistakes are going to made in all walks of life.
As an NFL general manager, admitting that mistake, i.e. parting ways with a player once reality hits that the match isn't going to work out, has to be done for overall success to be achieved.
It takes some humility to acknowledge a wrong, but not doing so only digs a deeper hole.
"One of my real strengths," Ballard explains, "is when I make a mistake, I own it. It's on me. I don't ever put the blame off and I'll never put the blame off."
Moving from an area scout in Chicago, into the thick of pro personnel decisions in Kansas City, Ballard quickly learned the keys to a prospering roster build.
A major aspect of how the Colts will handle decisions will come from a collaborative effort in making sure multiple eyes and ears are used before a move/draft pick is made.
"Everything we do will be together," Ballard says. "It'll be a different process for our guys a little bit. But everything and every decision we make we will do together.
"The draft room, in my mind, is a lot like the locker room, a special place. You better not be defensive, because we're going to poke holes in guys and we're going to make that guy earn his way to be an Indianapolis Colt. He's going to earn his way."
Ballard himself has earned his way into being a first-time general manager.
Another sign of Ballard's humility and candidness came during an admission he made at his introductory press conference.
"I'm probably not completely ready to be a GM," Ballard stated honestly. "I'm going to screw some things up. I'm going to make some mistakes and I'll own them. But I'll say this, I wasn't ready to coach Al Harris, who played in the National Football League for 14 years when I coached the secondary (at Texas A&M University-Kingsville). I played receiver in college, the coach put me in, but I figured it out. I wasn't ready to be an area scout (in Chicago), but I figured it out. I wasn't ready to be a director of pro personnel, I figured it out. I wasn't ready to be a director of player personnel (in Kansas City), I figured it out. I have enough good people around me that they're going to help guide be along the way.
"All I know is if you treat people right, and you work hard, good things will happen, and if you're productive. Those things usually work out for you in the long run, if you do things right."
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