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?

I heard a commercial recently where the company said, “Failure is an option.” As soon as I heard it, I knew I liked it.

Michael Jordan used to say, “I succeed because I have failed.” Because he wasn’t afraid to fail, he wanted the ball in his hands at the end of the game. He was fearless because he was not afraid to fail.

John Wooden’s college coach at Purdue, Piggy Lambert, used to teach that the team that makes the most mistakes wins, a statement that would make most of today’s basketball coaches cringe. But his point was that if you’re playing aggressive and attacking basketball, you’re going to make mistakes and that’s okay. Don’t let the mistakes get you down. Just keep on attacking.

Often we learn more from failure than success.

I once played for a coach who constantly criticized me and my teammates. His continuous yelling could sometimes take away from your aggressiveness because you knew if you failed you would never hear the end of it. I learned a great deal from that coach on how I did not want to coach. It turned out to be a great learning experience.

I disagree with some of today’s educators who are so much into student’s self-esteem that they strive to take failure out of the students’ lives. I think they are cheating the kids. Like all of us, their students will meet with failure in their lives, both personal and professional. Instead of eliminating failure would it not be much more beneficial to teach kids how to deal with it? Learn from it, put it behind you, and move on.

Failure is an option. It is prevalent in business, in athletics, and in every phase of our lives. So, let’s not fear it but learn from it, and continue to aggressively strive for excellence.

“Our greatest power is the freedom to choose our response.”

This is a quote from Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning and a survivor of the Holocaust.

Viktor Frankl

When I think of the response of leaders to situations, I believe two totally opposite responses can be appropriate.

A very successful businessman once told me that when he was angry at another person, he would write a letter telling that person exactly how he felt, leaving no stone unturned. He would then tear the letter up, wait a day, and rewrite it. By waiting a full day, his anger would usually dissipate and he could write a more humane, rational reply. There is certainly a great deal of wisdom in this approach, especially when responding to a criticism that comes to you in writing.

On the other side of the coin, I once read an article written by the late Bill Walsh, former NFL coach, titled “Two Cheers for Pissed Off.” Being of Irish descent and having coached for forty-four years, I liked this article!

I think there is merit to this response, with three disclaimers:

• Your anger must be genuine. I have worked with some leaders who feigned anger. I don’t think that ever works. If you’re mad, be mad!
• I think being passionate about your beliefs is perfectly okay. If someone is attacking something you strongly believe in, and are doing it in an abusive way, why not let them know in no uncertain terms how you feel?
• Finally, it is always best to have your anger directed at the issue, not the person. I felt this was especially critical in coaching. The coach can get after what was done wrongly, not who did it.

Our meetings in athletics at the university where I worked for thirty-four years were often very spirited. People were passionate about their beliefs and said how they felt. But it was about the issue, not the person. The talk was candid and sometimes rough but we left the meetings as the friends we were.

I definitely believe open, truthful discussion is always best. Leaders can choose their response and both containing your anger and letting it show can be appropriate. The key is the issue, not the person.

Recently on the “Mike and Mike” ESPN morning show, Mark Schlereth, a former NFL player, said when he played for the Washington Redskins, Coach Joe Gibbs had two mantras:

• Lose “yourself”; and
• Great talent makes plays the first three quarters; great character makes plays in the fourth quarter.

In my forty-four years of coaching, I found both of these statements to be absolutely true. In fact, I wish I had been aware of them when I was coaching. I certainly would have quoted Coach Gibbs to our players.

The very best teams have players who do what Coach Gibbs preached – they lose “themselves.” In abandoning ego, their total mind-set is on the team and they will do anything they can to help the team win.

Through the years we had players who probably should have been starting, but, for the sake of the team, they agreed to come off the bench. They were complete team players and they were so valuable to us because when we were sluggish, they could enter the game and immediately pick up our tempo.

We also found that character was critical in building a team, so to the best of our ability, we recruited character. Not only would character make plays in the fourth quarter, it could very well be the key ingredient to making or breaking a season. I never coached an undefeated basketball team. Almost every season I coached, our team went through some rough periods, some stretches of losing.

Teams that do not have people of character go south when the losing comes. Players start pointing fingers at everyone – coaches and teammates alike. But teams with character fight through the tough times and overcome the obstacles.

Mike Ditka said it well when describing his Chicago Bears Super Bowl championship team. He said they definitely had characters on that team, but they also had character.

Coach John Wooden of UCLA fame also said it well when he stated that great teams have players who sacrifice their individual glory for team glory.

Is it not the same in any business or any organization? Leaders, like coaches, want to develop people who lose themselves for the sake of the entire organization. These people are people of character.

Coach Gibbs’ two mantras go hand-in-hand. Players with character do lose themselves into the team concept.

I recently read an article encouraging leaders to think often about their leadership legacy.

The article stated, “And a legacy takes time to build so the sooner you define it and think about it, the higher your odds are of successfully doing it.”

It went on to say, “We want to improve the world beyond our immediate span of control. That’s why proactively thinking about your legacy is so critical.”

When I think of the great leaders I have been blessed to work with, I could not disagree more. I don’t think the great ones think about their legacy at all. They simply go to work, roll up their sleeves, and give the day their best effort.

When all is said and done, I think the best leaders do three things:

• They remain life-long learners in their business. They know there is so much to learn about their work and they strive to learn every day.
• They have great energy and they consistently give their best effort. They don’t give effort periodically; they practice consistency of effort.
• Most importantly, they care about the people in their charge beyond the narrow confines of a work-place. And those working for him/her know that care is genuine.

I believe that because great leaders are so busy spending their time working on the above three concepts, they literally don’t have time to think about their legacy. They are too busy doing what counts.

At the end of the day, great leaders don’t concern themselves with their legacy. Others think about and often honor their legacy but the leaders themselves don’t take the time to do so.