Playbooks from when he was at USC and BYU, where he was considered one of the top assistant coaches in college football, fill the shelves of Norm Chow’s office.

But the book the University of Hawaii head coach refers to most regularly is on his desk that is otherwise clear except for ready-to-post letters to potential recruits.

It’s “The Daily Book of Positive Quotations.” Together, we read the entry for Tuesday, Aug. 4. It is from George S. Patton.

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

It reminds me of the profound wisdom a friend once shared with me: “Bosses can demand the process or the results, but not both.”

It’s something many executives learn the hard way. Chow admits freely that the transition to CEO from long-time No. 2 man was more challenging than he expected. After decades of being Robin, it’s not so easy to become Batman overnight.

He also says he knows that at many other schools he’d have been let go after last year’s third consecutive losing season — that is, if he’d survived the 1-11 campaign of 2013.

“But there’s no money,” for a buyout.

And there’s no money for a lot of other things. Like charter flights. Like better facilities. Like full Cost of Attendance stipends. Things that would help make Hawaii attractive to top-notch players.

Chow knew recruiting would be tough — it always is. But he said he now fully understands why it’s so hard to keep the blue chips home. They want a chance to play for a national championship.

“It’s our job to tell them why it’s good to stay here,” he said.

But it’s uphill. And what this all leads to is a roster that cannot withstand attrition.

“That separates the Power Five from the others, the depth,” Chow said. “We are a lot better, but we’re still not there.”

UH simply cannot afford injuries, but injuries are inevitable in football. And with the supremely challenging early visits to Ohio State, Wisconsin and Boise State, after the first five games UH’s bowl hopes might be determined more by its hurt list than its won-lost record.

They’re probably in a place where they can compete in the Mountain West, but not if they’re all bus’ up from the September death march.

Practices, starting this afternoon, are open to the public. But fans expecting plenty of hard hitting may be disappointed, as Chow says they will be “NFL style,” meaning little contact.

Especially with the early gauntlet, there’s no room for losing players due to self-inflicted wounds.

“They fire coaches,” Chow said, with a laugh. “They don’t fire schedule-makers.”

But the athletic director who thought two road games against Big Ten powers was a good idea, Ben Jay, did get fired (though, as is UH’s style, with plenty of parting gifts).

Chow said he thought more than he let on about stepping down last year when his wife, Diane, was stricken with a life-threatening aneurysm. But, “She was adamant that I come back (and continue coaching). She gets it.”

Diane Chow’s improvement has been dramatic. Much more so than the UH football team’s over the past few years. But now, this 2015 edition is a group that is almost all Norm Chow recruits. There are no more excuses.

Well, other than the schedule.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quickreads