Focus on the process to achieve high results. My partner has run the 'business' side of practice for over thirty years. Eons ago, he opined about hiring, "hire the person who NEEDS the job, not the person who WANTS the job."
Successful coaches own clear philosophy about "this is who we are and that is how we play." Never has "I'll figure it out" presaged epic success.
English cricketer Ed Smith speaks of 'virtu' which is not the classic virtue of Franklin. Macchiavellian 'virtu' did not describe character and goodness, but a drive and will to succeed, nourished by flexibility to needs.
Basketball 'virtu' might describe Kobe and Isiah, Bird and Bradley. If we accept that premise, we have to coach for years to find a few candidates for 'virtu'.
That doesn't preclude selecting a balance among higher performance and higher potential. Don't miss diamonds in the rough to satisfy conventional wisdom or stubbornness.
It distills to identity of each team. "Who and what are we?" Find the 'guys' who NEED to be successful, who demand success of the team and of themselves.
Imagine you've coached two similar players over several years and the next level coach says, "which one will impact winning more in the future?" Invariably, you KNOW the answer, the more committed, hungrier player.
Lagniappe. On 'virtu'.
