Monday, November 23, 2020

Basketball: R & D Principles, Language, and More

"Imagination leads to innovation, leading to differentiation." - Bill Russell

Great companies thrive by competing and leading in R & D, research and development. During the great pandemic of 2020, basketball advanced online education, playoff innovation with the Bubble, and Zoom conferences where players, coaches, and others shared knowledge. 

Transformation is no accident. 3M allocates employees protected creative time. "Post-It Notes" originated as a failed glue that wasn't good enough. Great recipes begin with mastering techniques and tools of refinement. "Perfect" scrambled eggs begin with melted butter, whipped eggs filtered through a "China cap," and salting after the initial cooking has begun (to lessen dehydration). Simplicity wins. Naismith improved on his peach basket by cutting out the bottom. 

Development is purposeful. A coach (researcher) saw a high school player (developer) working on his game thirty minutes before AAU games, before camps. The player worked on his handle, catch-and-shoot, and stepbacks. Alone. Over and over and over. The coach knew this kid would be special. The prospect? Steph Curry. 

R & D wears many hats. Watching video is research. Read and study clinic notes. Practice plans, drill books, and blogging are development. I consider MasterClass on many subjects R & D.

Grow across disciplines. In his first MasterClass, Michelin 3-star chef Thomas Keller informed essential principles including, "balance a sense of urgency with finesse." I think of Chef Keller as the Bill Walsh of cooking, preaching excellence through precision. 

  • Awareness - of the team, ingredients, the cooking process
  • Interpretation - which spawned the cornet, an ice cream cone-like appetizer including the tuna or salmon filling
  • Inspiration - which stimulates progress
  • Evolution - of our knowledge and techniques
Keller discusses shared language. "Jimmy" refers to needing cleanup (as in Buff-it). If a sous chef calls for a baseball, he's asking for a clean towel. Basketball has its own language - thru, bury, blitz, ice, get, Spain, lock and trail, and more. 

Ask ourselves, what's in our R & D program? 

Lagniappe: Close but no cigar? 


Lagniappe 2: "Be good at what we do a lot." Transition defense... @PickandPopNet
Lagniappe 3: Watch video every day. "Get a screen, set a screen, roll and score." 





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