Monthly Archives: June 2014

John Wayne made the movie but my dear friend, Dr. Gene Curran, lived it.

“The quiet man who spoke so loudly.” This was the refrain used by the homilist for Gene during his eulogy. Gene never spoke about all he did for others; he just did it and did it regularly.

He was a local podiatrist who treated thousands of patients in his lifetime…and often forgot, intentionally, to bill them.

It was said of Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs during this year’s NBA Finals that he is the quietest player in the entire League. Was that one of the reasons why his teammates – great players like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili – were so happy for him when he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals?

He had little to say, but he sure let his actions speak for himself during the Finals.

Will Rogers, in his own inimitable way, saw this topic from another perspective, “Never miss a good chance to shut-up.”

When I reflect on my father, he had little to say. However when he did talk, it was like that old advertisement for E.F. Hutton. Everyone adhered to that Will Rogers adage and listened. For years, Dad volunteered for the St. Vincent DePaul Society gathering items for the poor in the community. He did it, but I never heard him talk about it.

When all is said and done, a leader, because of his position, does have the opportunity to help others. Albert Einstein had this figured out when he wrote, “I can see no other reason why we are here but to help others.” And I believe we admire people who do it, but don’t advertise it.

“The quiet man who spoke so loudly.” Not a bad mantra for a leader?

Perhaps the most relevant word to describe the Spurs winning the 2014 NBA championship is “humility.”

John Wooden used to say, “Give all the credit away.” You are the leader. Everyone knows you are the leader. The endeavor was successful. Why do you need the credit? I think humility and credit go hand-in-hand.

When the Spurs owner, Peter Holt, a man ranked as the “ultimate boss” among all sports owners in 2012, was interviewed immediately after the game, he was asked by ESPN’s Stuart Scott how HE did it. Specifically, he was asked “what’s your secret?”

He quickly gave his answer: “My secret is these guys behind me and Coach Pop… It doesn’t start at the top, it starts with them.”

Humility at the top can spread through an entire organization.

It was also interesting to watch Coach Gregg Popovich during the on-the-court post-game interviews. He stayed behind the team and was not interviewed. His actions spoke volumes. Give the credit to the players.

Sean Elliot, who played for the Spurs and Popovich, was asked why the Spurs have been among the top NBA teams for the past two decades. He said it all started with David Robinson and continued with Tim Duncan. The two Spurs superstars were, and are, humble. They set the team tone by wanting to be coached. When the superstars allow themselves to be coached, the rest of the team automatically follows suit.

Something for leaders to consider….Humility at the top can permeate through an entire organization and humility is best seen when all the credit is given away.

Ken Babcock wrote, “You can tell the value of a man by the way he treats someone who can do nothing for him.”

This quote made me think of the San Antonio Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich.

When the Nike Basketball Clinics would come to Chicago, our team at the University of St. Francis would demonstrate for the coaches who spoke. It was a nice opportunity for our players to meet and work with coaches whom they saw on television and it was a great opportunity for me and my coaching staff to learn.

One year the Nike people decided to have an NBA only clinic. The only speakers were NBA coaches. I had never seen a clinic like this in my forty-four years of coaching basketball.

Demonstrating for ten different coaches covering many different phases of the game is not an easy job. Our players had to be very attentive for long hours and had to quickly adapt to the teaching and terminology of each coach.

Our guys finished their work on Friday night at 10 p.m. We had to be back in the gym Saturday morning for a 7:30 a.m. lecture and work with the coaches until 10 p.m. that night.

The last speaker Saturday night was Gregg Popovich. None of us had ever met him until that evening. During his presentation our center, Arvydas Astrauskas, turned his ankle badly, an unfortunate accident.

A month after the clinic, out of nowhere, I received a call from Coach Popovich. He asked for Arvydas’ telephone number so he could call him to see how he was doing. His call did surprise Arvydas! He then said he would like to provide tickets for us when the Spurs came to play the Bulls. After the game, he came up and shook hands with each of our players.

This was a real-life reflection of the Babcock quote. We could do absolutely nothing for Coach Popovich. Nothing!

Might this be a good lesson for all leaders to consider?