Monday, February 6, 2023

Basketball: Innovation, Opportunities and Obstacles

Notes adapted from MasterClass Rosalind Brewer, Walgreens CEO

Learn across domains. Change is inevitable. Our goal as individuals is to impact programs through execution. As Neil Degrasse Tyson's father said, "It's not enough to be right, you have to be effective." 

Anticipate. What is around the corner from around the corner? If there is something keeping us awake at night, how can we fix or lessen it? (Mediocre talent can't get superior results with in-game coaching.) 

How do we positively impact our community? Impact the community of coaches and players, not just our locality. 

Know the history of your organization. Who and what made the organization what it is today? 

Reimagine our industry. Our local basketball organization hasn't been consistently vertically aligned. That was true during both highly successful eras and more recently.  

Are there issues of accessibility, quality, affordability? There are user fees but the overall participation has dropped sharply. Top players have often left the system, attracted by private schools. 

Make people feel confident and comfortable. Can we do better? Walgreens sought to combine primary care and pharmacies as a way to deliver more accessible and convenient care. 

How can we blend community and our expertise (in our case, sport)? How can we attract, inspire, and retain players into the system? If success is important, how can we align everyone's interests?

What do the customers (players and families) expect from us? Stakeholders need communication. They benefit from transparency.

Leadership and strategy matter. Without followers there are no leaders. 

WII-FM...'what's in it for me?' 

"Where can we uniquely outperform?" Players benefit from superior teaching and higher level of community support.


Within our basketball program, how can we be more 'customer focused'? That reminds me about principles of Sarah Blakely. 

1. Make it. 
2. Sell it. 
3. Build brand awareness. 

***Obsess the product. 

Lagniappe. Another great video to study.