Bo Schembechler jumped the line at an Ann Arbor barbershop Max Effgen, September 10, 2026September 7, 2026 Over thirty years ago, Bo Schembechler jumped the line at an Ann Arbor barbershop. I’ve told this story before: Ann Arbor, sophomore year, a barber named Jerry who cut hair for Michigan’s best for the right price. Bo — freshly retired from coaching, still UM’s athletic director and President of the Detroit Tigers, in the middle of the fallout from firing Ernie Harwell — burst in and beelined for the bathroom while the whole shop debated the scandal. Bo’s house had been egged the night before in response to the firing. It was all over the news and even made ESPN. When Bo came out, he sat down in the chair, cutting in front of me. It turned into the opportunity of a lifetime. I made the case for why Harwell mattered: not a rah-rah showman, but a bridge back to the great baseball broadcasters, someone who could make any Tigers team worth listening to on a summer night. Bo listened. Not politely — actually listened, to this sophomore’s opinion, like it was worth something. I’ve thought about that moment for three decades. Not because of who he was, but because of what he gave me: the confidence that comes when someone senior enough to ignore you chooses not to. Since 2017 I have been working to hand that back, mentoring with the University of Michigan’s Barger Leadership Institute (BLI) — an immersive, interdisciplinary leadership program for undergrads. BLI takes its name from Dave Barger, Michigan alumnus and co-founder of JetBlue Airways. Barger has donated millions across LSA, athletics, Michigan Medicine, and the Alumni Association. He currently sits on the Dean’s Advisory Council. His 2007 founding gift created BLI so undergraduates could “grab leadership concepts early,” not wait for graduate school. My involvement with BLI is deeply personal. As an undergrad in A², I was an “unguided missile” who badly needed a program like BLI. I have the grades to prove it. It’s a full-circle kind of giving back — humbling and energizing in equal measure. Recently got to do exactly that with BLI students Samantha and Zach on their podcast, Break Away: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3XTDnZcTdkzpJK07hDSx5l?si=Ee0IGbWEQZ-f0CTgvRNz9A The podcast did reveal an old embarrassing, bad habit: “Ya know.” I once lost a job because I overused that phrase. So I am re-learning from that, but I appreciated the honest, thoughtful questions. “Learning from your wins” is a personal philosophy — taking inventory or mindful moments to actually analyze what had to go right in order to win. All too often, what got to a win be it a project, sale or other success, is not analyzed and then becomes difficult to repeat. Back to the barbershop, Bo didn’t teach me leadership that day. He modeled it. You cannot lecture someone into that kind of confidence. You can only give it to them, the way it was given to you. Go Blue. PS: Coach & Four Barber Shop is still going strong on State Street, just south of Main Campus. Avanti. Measure what matters. ...