Study other domains. Howard Marks wrote a brilliant investment book, The Most Important Thing Illuminated. James Clear's summary applies for basketball, too.
"You can’t do the same things others do and expect to outperform. The most dependable way to outperform the market is to buy something for less than its value. It is price, not quality that determines value: high-quality assets can be risky, and low-quality assets can be safe."
What does half a century in basketball teach us?
1. Make others better. Exceptional players make teammates better. They commit, communicate, connect, and become servant leaders for their basketball community. They put the team first. They're positive and coachable.
2. Make yourself better. Do the work. Develop skill, be the hardest worker, study the game and video. Never cheat the drill. To earn more minutes, role, and recognition, become more.
3. Impact winning. Make positive plays. Minimize mistakes. Take better shots. Take care of the ball. Make the tough plays and hustle plays.
4. Do not quit. We've all coached and played plenty of games where our teams were outclassed and outplayed. I only had issues when a team gave less than its best. Remember The Four Agreements of which one is "always do your best." Recognize that some days our best won't be great but our effort can still be. "Your best will depend on whether you are feeling physically tired or refreshed. Your best will depend on how you are feeling emotionally. Your best is going to change over time, and as you form the habit of practicing the Four Agreements, your best is going to get better."
5. See the game. Like chess grandmasters, "chunk the board" by familiarizing patterns. It breaks down to initial organization (spacing), player and ball movement, and the "scoring moment." When any of the former break down, the quality of the scoring moment decreases.
6. Understand tempo and situation. Match style and philosophy to people. If we have a big car and a small engine, the car won't perform well. The moment arises to play fast (extend the game) and slowly (shorten the game). Solid teams have effective comeback and delay games.
7. Move. If you're standing still, you're doing it wrong. If great offense is multiple actions and great defense is multiple actions, both imply movement. "Movement kills defenses" and "the ball is a camera." Move to have it find you.
8. Make the time. Invest time or spend it. Education and skill development take time. Use additional thinking time. Study specific areas that you feel will enhance skills, teaching ability, and problem solving.
9. Make a difference. As teachers, we can't reach everyone. But make that their choice not ours.
10. Simplify. Find ways to reduce. Remember Don Meyer's three stages of coaching - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity.
From Boisvert...
- SETH KLARMAN: Silos are a double-edged sword. A narrow focus leads to potentially superior knowledge. But concentration of effort within rigid boundaries leaves a strong possibility of mispricings outside those borders. Also, if others’ silos are similar to your own, competitive forces will likely drive down returns in spite of superior knowledge within such silos.