Second Effort

Second Effort
Cover of Second Effort video
Directed by	Jay Sheridan
Written by	David Hayes
Starring	Vince Lombardi, Ron Masak
Production company	Dartnell Training Programmes
Release date	1968
Running time	30 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Second Effort is a 1968 sales training film starring Vince Lombardi, the Hall of Fame head coach of the Green Bay Packers. The film also featured veteran character actor Ron Masak and other members of the Green Bay Packers organization, including offensive lineman Jerry Kramer. It has been cited as a "classic" and as the best-selling training film of all time. The film is still in use in leadership and management courses.

The plot of the film centers around a salesman named Ron (portrayed by Ron Masak) who is trying to make a sales pitch to legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi. Ron is not very good at his job, and fumbles ineffectually through his sales pitch. Coach Lombardi takes pity on him, and spends the rest of the film teaching him his personal philosophy, known as "The Second Effort". The sport of American football is used as a metaphor, and lessons on the football field are applied to Ron's own job in sales. Many quotes and aphorisms commonly associated with Lombardi appear in the film, such as "mental toughness is the essential key to success" and "confidence is contagious, and so is the lack of it". Scenes take place in Lombardi's office and other locations around Lambeau Field, the Packers home football stadium.

The film was designed to train and motivate salesmen. The industry that Ron, the salesman in the film, represents is intentionally left vague, so as to broaden the appeal of the film. It has been used by companies in many industries to train their sales force, but has also been used in other settings as a motivational film.

Numerous sources have cited this as the best selling film of its type.

The film became something of signature film in sales training and corporate motivation, so much so that in 1969, one salesman complained of having been shown the film by his boss twelve times in one year. One reviewer in the Chicago Tribune thought that Lombardi's performance "[rated] an Oscar for his role" in the film. The film itself has been the subject of an episode of the NFL Films Presents television show, host Steve Sabol interviewed Ron Masak on the making of the film and on his memories of working with Vince Lombardi.