Coaches have a cornucopia of choices to build systems. How can "mental models" assist us. We have literally thousands available. We must narrow the list. And each of us may benefit from different ones. "One man's meat is another man's poison." One of the most powerful models is inversion, or thinking backwards. Rather than being brilliant, let's avoid being stupid. "Avoiding stupidity is easier than being brilliant." Take more layups. Turn the ball over less. Don't allow easy baskets. None involve brilliance.
Here are three, selected from Michael D. Simmons.
1. Prioritization (80/20). What does my team need now? Selecting and implementing systems is time sensitive. Prioritization means choice among individual and group training, offense and defense, tempo, and "fitting" our system to our people. Prioritization means allocating the right time and training to meet our needs.
2. Problem solving. Leaders solve problems, sometimes unconventionally. Simmons shares ideas from a few billionaires...why not study excellence?
Charlie Munger: Analyze what can go wrong instead of what can go right (invert)
Warren Buffett: Use checklists to avoid stupid mistakes.
Ray Dalio: Learn how to think independently.
Steve Jobs: Use storytelling to make your vision more compelling.
Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn founder): Build deep, long-term relationships that give you insider knowledge.
We battle mundane problems (transition defense, player and ball movement, free throw shooting) relative to economic development and world peace. But we still need frameworks and specific plans (education, training) to overcome them.
3. Learn better.
Learning demands investment in ourselves, using better software (knowledge) to develop our mental hardware (wisdom).
Flip through but skip the sales pitch. Read, reflect, retain, respond. Commit to spending a minimum of five hours a week increasing your skill.
We have many other challenges, like cognitive biases, resource limitations (time, money, assistants, organizational support), but control what we can.
Lagniappe:
"Fence series"
Fence handoff with screen away to set up trey.
