Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees has relied on this ‘old-school’ method to get ahead in football and in business

• Drew Brees has relied on his philosophy of "trust the process" to find success on and off the field.
• The Super Bowl MVP told Business Insider that "old-school" note-taking has always worked for him.
• To retain what he learned, Brees reviews his notes and shares them with his wife while on walks.

Super Bowl champion Drew Brees is big on sticking with what works.

From the football field to the business world, he told Business Insider that he's long reminded himself to "trust the process."

That's proven successful, Brees said, whether he's helping someone new to the NFL get their bearings or in a meeting looking to retain as much information as he can.

When it comes to learning, he said that he has long relied on a simple, analog tactic to get ahead on the field and in business: being a "pretty voracious" and "old-school" notetaker.

That means pen to paper and three-ring binders, said the longtime quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, who retired in 2021.

"That was what I did in every football meeting I was ever a part of," Brees said. "And it's what I do in every board meeting."

Brees, whose business interests include several Jimmy John's sandwich shops and a New Orleans sports complex called Pickles N Pins, spoke to Business Insider about a partnership with the learning and development platform Schoox.

The Super Bowl MVP said he's found that taking notes helps him learn, retain information, and then apply it.

"I just sit there and write it down. I go over those notes. I end up reciting it back to my wife as we go for a walk during the day," Brees said.

'Always learning, always growing'

He said his note-taking strategy is part of his philosophy of "always learning, always growing."

Brees said he also focuses on learning with his businesses, including training workers. Brees said that's why he's working with Schoox, which uses artificial intelligence to help train frontline employees and managers. He's begun using Schoox at Surge Entertainment, a franchise he cofounded that offers activities like bowling, mini-golf, and golf simulators.

Training workers at the Louisiana company, whose locations extend from Oklahoma to Virginia, is important, Brees said, because it can help employees advance within the company and in their own careers.

"It's not a transactional thing for us. It's really about building a team and a great culture," he said.

Brees said that matters even when the worker might be someone in high school or college who plans to move on. Even if people aren't planning to stick around, how they interact with customers as soon as families walk in the door matters, he said.

'Win the day'

Training is one way to get buy-in from workers by making it clear the company is investing in them, Brees said. When workers appreciate that investment, he said, it's more likely they'll do their best to please customers.

"We are equipping them with the skillset and the tools to be able to go on and be great managers, to be great leaders, to be great teammates," he said.

At Surge Entertainment, Brees said, the mantra is "win the day." It's something that has been imparted to him throughout his career.

"There's going to be something great that's going to happen today, and you just have to expect it and create it," he said.