"You always worry that what you're doing is rubbish." - Salman Rushdie
In his MasterClass, Salman Rushdie shares a chapter, "All Writing Is Rewriting." That's how I feel about coaching, a process of growth, learning, and revision. Rushdie adds that revision means distinguishing between creative and critical eyes and knowing what needs removal and what needs addition.
In another MasterClass Dan Brown says, "the difference between good writers and bad writers is good writers know when they're bad." He shares that he had written 150 pages of a novel and trashed it...because it was bad.
Coaching shares similarities, although bad coaching tends to be transitory, replaced. Start by sharing exemplary structure and use the mental model of inversion. "Invert always invert."
1. "A well-oiled machine." Use an analogy. We know one when we see one. Newman Stewart describes such an organization.
- Specifications
- Components
- Maintenance
- Mechanic
- Execution "What works, works."
4. "Do well what you do a lot." Excellent teams have an identity of knowing who they are and do what they do well. Struggling teams depart what they do well. The 2019 Celtics led the NBA in defense against three-point shots. They're seventeenth in 2020-2021. My last team couldn't contain the ball which pressured the help leading to rotation issues and layups or open perimeter shots. It wasn't until we changed to a hybrid defense that we could compete.
5. "Do your job." Although it's a team game, strong teams win individual battles. Although many associate Bill Belichick with the 'do you job' mantra, Bill Walsh and the 49ers emphasized this long before. Bad teams fail at the details of transition defense, defensive rebounding, and defending the pick-and-roll.
- Disorganization
- Individual agendas
- Bad culture
- Failing at key tasks
- Not doing your job