Monday, July 24, 2023

The Best Basketball Advice You've Heard - Six Examples*

"There's nothing cheaper than free advice" or "never give advice that you couldn't take." Great advice translates across domains. 

What is the best 'basketball advice' you've heard? I'll suggest a few; I hope that you will share yours.

"Basketball is sharing." - Phil Jackson   It's hard to outdo this one. Shared vision, shared suffering, and shared results increase performance. It's not as comprehensive as Robert Fulghum's Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. But it's a keeper. 

"Think again." - Adam Grant   Ask 'what if' or 'how can we do this better?' I want to follow his advice to keep a 'rethinking scorecard'. Rethinking means being 'more right' if not perfectly so. 

"Always do your best." One of The Four Agreements, I consider it the most powerful. Our best for the day may not be our absolute best or the best compared to others. When done consistently, it raises our personal standard. 

"Speak greatness." - Rod Olson   None of us inspires with sarcasm or demeaning players. Feel the difference between "that was excellent BUT" and "that was excellent AND." 

Consider this series of questions from Michael Useem in The Leadership Moment:

  • What went well?
  • What went poorly?
  • What can we do better next time?
  • What is the enduring lesson
Using our 'After Action Review' wisely edits performance. 

"Let it rip." Recent but intense and powerful... 

*Why six? Bob Woodward always provides at least six key points in his investigative journalism articles.

Lagniappe. Separation. 

Lagniappe 2. "Cooks cook to nurture people." - Thomas Keller, Michelin 3-star chef and owner of "The French Laundry." Coach to nurture people.