Monthly Archives: May 2016

Hiring people for your organization is critical for success. I thought I would share some thoughts for leaders to consider when hiring.

At a recent presentation I gave, a business leader told me in his business he looked to “hire character then teach skills.” I never heard it said that way before but when I heard it, it really resonated. This was exactly what we tried to do in our recruiting of collegiate basketball players. We wanted to know everything we could about their character before we offered scholarship money. Through the 44 years I coached, I found that most seasons had rough spots where you experienced consecutive losses and this was precisely the time when character came into play. Athletes with character stayed the course; athletes with poor character went south.

When Hubie Brown was coaching the NBA Atlanta Hawks, he would address character in this way. At the first practice of the year he would ask his players this question, “Are you teachable?” He followed that up with this statement, “If you’re not, why am I here?”  A Chicago area coach and I used to fly to Atlanta to watch Hubie teach in pre-season practices. A two-time NBA Coach-of-the-Year, he was a superb teacher. In fact, at one practice one of his new players, who had played on numerous NBA teams, told us he never experienced teaching like Hubie’s in his career. However, it made no difference how well he taught if the players were of poor character, poor listeners, or behaved in ways that were detrimental to the team.

In athletics, business, or any organization people of character make all the difference in the world.

A survey of Fortune 500 companies asked what they looked for in hiring. The results gave thirteen criteria they looked for in order of importance. Things like critical thinking, problem solving, and presenting were cited among the thirteen, but the number one thing they looked for was teamwork. That surprised me until I gave it some thought. My children began their careers at IBM, Arthur Anderson, the Sidley Law Firm, Deloitte and Touche, and as a professor at a university. Every one of them worked with a team. They were going to be positive, cooperative team members or non-productive, destructive team members. Their dad was glad they did the former!

Bill Russell, the great Boston Celtics player, put it this way. He said the Celtic players, who won eleven NBA championships in thirteen years, left their egos at the door when they entered the building for practices and games. But what they did have was Team Ego. They knew if you were to beat them you had to bring your best game because they were going to do just that in every game.

Would it not be great if organizations could develop Team Ego?

A third thought was brought up when I worked at Providence High School. Faculty criticized our principal for hiring too many Providence graduates – too much inbreeding they said. I listened to this criticism, then told them why I disagreed. I found that there were a lot of people out there who could really interview well, but when hired they were poor workers. They had interviewing down pat but not work ethic. Whereas, when we hired someone we knew, we knew what we were getting. We knew their work ethic. We also knew we were a very good school, so hiring people who knew our pursuit of excellence immediately fit into our culture

The final point is referrals. I always thought that they were worthwhile when we knew the person referring them well. We knew we could trust their judgment on character, team play, and work ethic.

I hope leaders find some merit in these thoughts on hiring.

Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, used to tell his players, “Chase perfection and you may catch excellence.”

What is excellence? It may be difficult to define, but my good friend and fellow coach, Jack Hermanski, may have an insight. We tried to give our basketball players credit for Effort Points in practices and games. When we tried to define just what Effort Points were, Jack probably had the very best definition when he said, “I don’t know what they are; but I do know them when I see them.”

Brother Paul French, FSC, President Emeritus of Lewis University

The same may be said for excellence. Given the above, I thought I might share some excellence that I have seen in people I have known. These observations may lead to an understanding, if not a definition, of excellence.

Christian Brother Paul French was the best teacher I had in my collegiate years at Lewis College, now Lewis University. He was also the toughest, most demanding professor I ever had at any level of academic work. I think what may have separated him from other teachers I had was his extensive preparation. I had him for Shakespeare’s comedy and history plays and his preparation for each class was impeccable.

Gordie Gillespie was an outstanding coach in football, basketball, and baseball. I did have the opportunity to work with the likes of Bob Knight, John Wooden, and Dean Smith at basketball clinics. Gordie would not take a back-seat to any of them. His preparation for high school football at Joliet Catholic was so thorough that when darkness came, people would shine their car lights onto the practice field so he could complete his preparation.

Bishop Roger Kaffer was the best priest I have ever known. His work ethic never ceased to amaze me. It was not unusual for him to work well after midnight. In fact, this was the norm when he served as our principal at Providence Catholic High School. Despite working so late, he always began the day saying daily mass at 7 a.m.

One of the Bishop’s favorite sayings was, “People are more important than things.” And that was how he lived his life. He always dropped what he was doing to help a person in need. He would complete the work later, but serve the person now.

I was fortunate to coach some all-conference, all-state, and All-American players at the University of St. Francis. I do not remember any player who achieved these accolades who was not a great worker at practice. To a man, when they tied up their shoes and walked across that line for practice, they were the same every day. They had the ability and the attitude to consistently give their best effort. It was no secret why they excelled. They deserved every honor they received because of their work ethic.

I can’t define excellence but I think I have known it when I have seen it. It seems to begin and end with preparation and work.

As a leader, you may want to reflect on your preparation and your work ethic.