Category Archives: Helpful Hints

April 2, 2013 · 10:27 am

Coach Knight

We’re down to The Final Four (Go Blue!) and so what better place than the Golf Channel to have a chat with a great college coach?  That’s exactly what aired last evening as part of Feherty, one of my not so guilty pleasures.  David Feherty interviewed Bob Knight, best known as the coach of Indiana University.   He’s the sort of coach that many people love to hate – they respect his accomplishments but can’t understand the screaming, chair-throwing, and general misbehaving that he did.  The interview helped me to understand it – and him – a lot better.

Bobby Knight (en), coach of the Texas Tech Red...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Early on in the show, Coach Knight said something that really resonated with me as a businessperson and it’s our topic today.  It seems kind of simple but it often gets lost:

The role of a coach or the role of a teacher is to get the player or student to be the best that they can be.

Exactly.  Not “to get them to achieve some impossibly high standard that even professional athletes can’t reach.”  Not “to win a championship at all costs.”  It’s centered around understanding each kid and the potential for greatness that’s in each of them to whatever degree it exists.  Even if the kid doesn’t get it.  Then the challenge is to fulfill that potential.

Think about it in a business context.  How many managers are focused on “winning the championship” and not on getting each employee to be the best that they can be?   Instead of using the initial interview process to determine what that potential might be, many managers think about it as filing a box on the org chart.  They don’t think about complimentary skill sets, the potential to advance, or how well the candidate will fit into the group.  Instead, they assume the people are fungible.  Big mistake.

If we take the time to think carefully about Coach Knight’s standard, it becomes obvious that the key to success lies in looking hard for potential, especially if that potential is untapped to a great degree.  After all, if we’re focused on getting people to be the best that they can be, we want that bar set pretty high so the organization as a whole is elevated.

What do you think?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , ,

March 29, 2013 · 9:43 am

Toasting The Barrel

The first Foodie Friday post of Spring, or maybe I should be calling it “Boozie Friday” given the topic.  Either way it seems as if Spring has taken forever to get here.  Now that it has arrived so too do some of my favorite sporting events, one of which is the Kentucky Derby.  There are many beloved traditions associated with the first Saturday in May but the one in which most people seem to indulge is the Mint Julep which of course means bourbon, Kentucky’s whiskey.

Bourbon is aged in barrels, specifically new, charred white oak barrels.  That’s right – charred.  Before the raw whiskey is put into them, the barrels are “toasted.”  The heat burns the wood which imparts flavor to the end product.  Which is, of course, the business point today.

Many managers spend an awful lot of time trying to avoid conflict.  In some cases, they legislate the conflict away – they make all the decisions and the staff is there to follow orders.  I disagree.  I think businesses need to be more like bourbon barrels.  No, I don’t advocate burning them down.  Applying heat to them in a strategic manner is, however, something in which I do believe.  People need to bat ideas around.  They need to have a good debate about product, marketing, resources, and anything else that affects the business and, therefore, them.  Those discussions will, by their nature, generate heat.  It can’t be allowed to set the entire enterprise ablaze (you want to char the barrel, not burn it up) and that’s part of the manager’s role.  Heat imparts flavor – you don’t hear of any foods that are frozen to impart taste (you cook ice cream before you freeze it, wise guys).

Don’t be afraid of conflict.  People will disagree and that friction can lead to better things if it’s managed properly.  Letting your team know that it’s ok to have differing points of view brought to the surface is important.  Ultimately the supervisor needs to help everyone reach consensus and if that’ not possible, to make a decision as to the final direction.  But even if a team member’s desired course of action isn’t the one taken, knowing that they had input which was considered as one option strengthens the team.  A little heat for a brief time added flavor and made for a better product.

Now where did I leave the mint?

Enhanced by Zemanta

1 Comment

Filed under Helpful Hints

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

March 26, 2013 · 11:11 am

What’s Wrong With Small Ball?

We’re getting close to the start of baseball season. It’s always felt like a time of renewal – Spring has arrived (despite snow on opening day from time to time) and that’s a very good thing in my book. I grew up playing the game and it’s always intrigued me how baseball metaphors run throughout life here in the US of A.

Matt Wieters blocks home plate from Derek Jeter.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the baseball terms on my mind these days is “small ball.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, it refers to a strategy of getting men on base and advancing them through a series of hits or walks rather than placing an emphasis on home runs or big plays.  To me it’s a great business strategy these days and here is why. Business is filled with what I call “Rob Deers”.

In his prime, Rob Deer weighed about 210 and there were many seasons where he barely hit his weight.  Nevertheless, he was a valuable member of 5 different major league teams because he hit home runs.  A lot.  In fact, he would often appear as a league leader in both home runs and strike outs.  Go big or go home personified, I guess.  A lot of businesses think like Rob Deer.  They’re after the home run and while they might strike out a lot when they connect it’s a big win.  The problem with that is that there are also a lot of lean times in between.

I prefer to do business more like Derek Jeter.  Lead the league in hits and in runs scored.  That’s small ball personified.  Sure, hitting one over the wall is fun and almost everyone does that from time to time.  But unlike baseball, in business one isn’t assured of another game tomorrow if we don’t produce today.  Playing small ball in business isn’t heroic but it can be profitable.  The notion that it’s just as difficult to land a small order as it is to land a big one might be true but I’ve found that there are far fewer opportunities and far more competition as the size of the deal grows.

Don’t think for a minute this is about lowering standards.  It’s hard to play small ball well since it requires team work and a squad of folks who can hit the ball.  Managing that activity well requires someone special.  You?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , , , ,