20 Lessons from the “Smartest One in the Room"

Study grants us conversations with historical figures. What can they teach us? 

1. Abraham Lincoln wrote "hot letters" that he never sent, putting them aside so a cooler head prevailed. Anger seldom reveals our best selves. 

2. Bill Gates. Care about what's right not who's right.

3. Geno Auriemma. Watching the UCONN women practice taught me that we can always practice at a higher tempo. Life and basketball reward efficiency.

4. Chip and Dan Heath. Better stories power learning and memory. Use their SUCCESS acronym - simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, stories.

5. Dean Smith went from hanging in effigy on the UNC campus to the Hall of Fame. His Tarheels didn't win a National Championship until their seventh trip to the Final Four. Smith coached by being a mentor and a great man.  

6. Michael Mauboussin helps frame luck versus skill. "Do more of what works and less of what doesn't."  

7. Bob Knight. "Basketball is a game of mistakes." Part involves working within our circle of competence. "Stay in our lane" while working to expand the circle.

8. Charlie Munger. Warren Buffett's partner uses mental models and common sense to improve decisions. "It is easier to avoid stupidity that to achieve brilliance."

9. Helen Mirren was asked about essential qualities for success. She replied, "First, be on time. Second, don't be an asshole." 

10. Gandhi was known as the most punctual man in India. Respect other people's time. 

11. Pete Carril understood the power of sequencing. "The quality of the shot relates to the quality of the pass." First things first. 

12. Carl June. Most of you never heard of Doctor Carl June, my Chief Resident at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He was the smartest guy in every room and an incessant reader with attention to detail. His curiosity was insatiable and his research developed cures for cancer. 

13. Dave Smart. Smart explains, "every day is player development day." The ability to train and grow those around us, to add value, separates ordinary from extraordinary. 

14. Thomas Keller. Michelin 3-Star chef operates "The French Laundry." He explains that if they serve 85 guests in an evening, he focuses on the one whom they didn't satisfy. "Cooks cook to nurture people" and his precision cooking is about process. 

15. Pete Newell. Legendary coach Pete Newell cautioned coaches about taking too much from the system in which they grew up. Usually the copy becomes a "poor reproduction of the original." Stick with the basics - footwork, balancing, maneuvering speed.

16. Maya Angelou explained what's important. “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

17. Doc Rivers. Rivers coached the Celtics to their last championship and presided over the Clippers during the Donald Sterling scandal. In the Netflix series, "The Playbook" he reminded viewers, "Never be a victim." 

18. David Mamet. Playwright David Mamet reminds us to advance the story. Revise and eliminate what isn't necessary. He has "what hinders you" engraved on the back of his watch. 

19. Mira Nair. Director Mira Nair has her recipe for success, "you need the soul of a poet and the skin of an elephant." Hang in there when things are not going your way. 

20. CAPT T.E. Walsh. My mentor Dr. Tom Walsh understood not only that "the main thing was the main thing." If he thought we were going off track, he reminded us, "Never follow a lit fuse." Many of the scandals in sport and society occur precisely from fuse following. 

Lagniappe. Occam's Razor says, "never multiply things beyond necessity." This five second clip shows the NBA version, footwork.