Warren Buffett's partner, Charlie Munger, analyzes error according to mental models like "incentive-based bias." We heard Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski opine how the NCAAs must happen. "We need to have the tournament. We can't have it where two years in a row you don't have the NCAA tournament." We love basketball but don't see March Madness as an extinction-level event.
Munger tells us, "Clone good ideas." NBA analysts share their insight. Brian Scalabrine noted, "People who are internally driven hold themselves accountable on the defensive end." Mark Jackson said of playing with Kawhi Leonard, "The game's a lot easier when you're playing with Batman."
"Destroy bad ideas." A problem arises, a business decision or character flaw (e.g. Donald Sterling) and it's concealed. When the coverup is revealed, redemption is impossible. The bad idea compounds the initial mistake. When an offensive set, special play, or defense is not working, "Kill your darlings."
Celebrate eliminating bad ideas. Take out the trash.Thom Brennaman was caught on a hot mic using a homophobic slur like, two hours ago. https://t.co/F2AJ8KOHC9— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) August 20, 2020
Publicly supporting our ideas marries us to them. That's fine if the idea has truth and durability. But commitment can leave us in an ethically shaky place.
The preamble to the Declaration of Independence reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.” 41 of 56 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were slaveholders. All were men.
A new idea often requires refinement. The original 1960 unmanned Mercury-Atlas 1 (MA-1) suborbital test flight failed spectacularly with booster rocket shutdown and no parachute deployment. We stand on the shoulders of defeats.
Be on the lookout for great ideas. Recognize and refine good ones. Dump the dreck.
Lagniappe: from Basketball's Half-Court Offense (Calipari)
1) Scissors action
2) Double pindowns
3) Perimeter and duck-in options
"Great offense is multiple actions."
Every NBA game shares a myriad of teaching moments.
Lagniappe 2: Mavs use the rescreen to open the PG and set up a 3.
Kawhi, "Anything you can do I can do better."
Kawhi has his version of the jab step-back.
Bucks simple pass and screen away offense.
Markelle Fultz in the pick-and-roll, rejecting the screen and scoring mid-range.
Fronting the post? The Bucks do better than "swing and seal."
Lagniappe: "Horns" version...Fake DHO, Backdoor
Lagniappe 3. "Basketball is a game of separation."
Screening at the right time, angle, and place for your scorers is a skill. Grant Williams frees Kemba Walker (above).
Screening is an art as Williams proves moments later, changing the angle late.
Joel Embiid stakes out home territory in Eastman parlance.
Another important concept is "one more" passing to the open man.