Monday, April 15, 2024

Basketball: "Full Benefit," Analysis of Success and Failure

This topic arrives courtesy of Coach Brook Kohlheim (@CoachKohlheim). Full Benefit derives from learning from the negative. Paul Marobella writes, "Learning leadership lessons from all corners of team-oriented situations is a passion for me."

Understanding success and failure marks leaders as they learn from mistakes and avoid repeating them. 

First, a few excerpts:

"It’s a mindset that encourages one to squeeze every ounce of value from every situation. The highs, lows, and in–between hold a lesson, an opportunity for growth and learning."

"Imagine seeing a crisis not as a catastrophe but as a classroom."

"The essence of ‘Full Benefit’ lies in continuous learning, adaptation, and improvement."

This reminds me of Adam Grant's book Think Again and his advice of keeping a "rethinking scorecard." What 'truths' or widely held beliefs deserve closer scrutiny? This might represent anything:

  • How important are analytics?
  • Can the "Four Factors" be applied to other sports?
  • Are our 'draft' or 'recruiting' principles working? 
  • How can we improve our player development? 
  • What players are 'misvalued' - over or undervalued? 
  • Knowing that isolation points/possession are lower than many other play types, why do NBA teams invariably choose them for the final possession? Tradition, convention, ego? 
  • What are examples of "sunk cost" fallacy? 
Any of these questions could become their own study. 

The 'After Action Review' or 'Postmortem Examination' following a game or season might add clarity or confusion depending on both methods and results.  

We could trend player and team performance (subjectively and objectively).

For players with unexpected over- or underachievement, ask why? Did performance reflect role, growth, injury, style of play, outlier game(s), personal issues (family, friends, academics)? 

Did we examine operations from both internal (teamwork, competition, relationships) and external factors? 

Have we examined our preparation, practice, game planning, substitution, game management, and "operations trajectory." Were we the same team at the end of the season, worse, or much better? 

Have we used "Full Benefit" to thank those who contributed in the many aspects of team and to organize offseason changes where we fell short? "Thanks is the cheapest form of compensation." - Robert Townsend

Bias limits reliable self-grading of our coaching. Setting up 'metrics' for objective trending in advance might help. The court is our classroom and laboratory and our Trafalgar and Waterloo. 

Lagniappe. 

Lagniappe 2. This is gold. If a team lacks the individual skills to contain and to attack, they fail. 

Lagniappe 3. Weighty.  

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