In the world of team sports, there are coaches who
stand out because of their Commitment to winning -
people like Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Pat Summitt, Don
Shula, Joe Torre, Vince Lombardi, Joe Gibbs, Bob
Knight, Bill Parcells, Mike Krzyzewski, and John
Wooden.
Over time, many of the most talented players in each
sport have queued up to play for these coaches. And
when they did, they had a very good sense of what they
were signing up for. Usually, such players would
have ‘star status’ conferred on them on day one
anywhere else, but not with these coaches, because
by and large, they don’t allow a ‘star system’ to exist.
Miami Heat coach Pat Riley may have put it best when
he said, “Being a part of success is more important
than being personally indispensable.” In other words,
it’s about ‘team,’ not ‘me.’
In many cases, some of these athletes might have
made more money or gotten a softer deal playing
somewhere else, but they chose not to because they
wanted to be part of a winning organization. As a case
in point, why would NFL quarterback Brett Favre want
to practice his craft for a minor market team in Green
Bay, Wisconsin, a place so cold that its field is referred
to as the “frozen tundra?” We suspect the presence of
a winning tradition has a lot to do with it.
Each of these coaches has exceptionally high
standards – for their players and staff, the officials who
referee their games, and for themselves.
Since 1963, Bob Knight has been coaching men’s
college basketball at places like the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point, Indiana University, and Texas
Tech University. In that time, his teams have amassed
over 800 wins and 3 NCAA championships, making
him one of the winningest coaches in basketball
history. Knight-coached teams have also enjoyed
among the highest player graduation rates in Division
1 sports programs.
Fairly or otherwise, Coach Knight has also garnered a
reputation for being (how shall we put this?) extremely
demonstrative when he wants to make a point. In
some cases, the coach’s rather explicit mode of
communicating has gotten him in trouble. While we
have no interest in being apologists for bad behavior,
there seems little doubt that his passion for seeing
kids learn and excel has a lot to do with an occasional
profane rant or outburst.
In 2003, after a winning 16/11 season that the
students, Athletic Director, and college president were
all more than satisfied with, Coach Knight refused to
accept his $250,000 paycheck from Texas Tech
University. Commenting on the matter, he said, "When
I was a kid, I used to shovel walks and do all kinds of
stuff to make a dollar. But if I shoveled the walk, I
made damn sure that I did a good job. I'm just not at
all satisfied with what transpired with our team in
terms of our fundamental execution. I don't think it's
anybody's fault but mine."
"He has standards," men's basketball spokesman
Randy Farley said. "He just didn't meet his standards,
and so he said, 'I don't think I should be paid for that.’"
Our view is that leaders who refuse to exempt
themselves from the strict accountability they impose
on others usually achieve more.
The Bar is too Low
Somewhere along the way, the words ‘good enough’
worked their way into our lexicon. Though it is likely
they have always been there, our tolerance for their
application seems to have increased geometrically,
and engendered a certain mindset. Sadly, in many
respects, whether the standards are personal or
organizational, we just don’t have very high
expectations any more, particularly when it comes to
behavior.
Be it in sports, politics, business, or everyday life, we
seem to have reached an accommodation whereby
the end always justifies the means. Whether it’s
steroid amped baseball players using corked bats,
corporate executives backdating their stock options,
everybody with an MP3 player toting a library of stolen
music, students knocking off term papers, or
residents of the White House lying to the nation, their
spouses, or both, cheating is not only prevalent, it is
commonly accepted. There doesn’t even appear to be
any shame.
As New York State Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer
made a living (not to mention a reputation) going after
some of the companies and individuals involved in
corporate shenanigans, and, although he collected
billions in fines from settlements, practically no one
went to jail, but for Martha Stewart, one of the few
remaining legal residents of America who doesn’t
mind cooking and cleaning. (To her credit, she
stepped up to the plate and took her medicine without
whining, dodging, or dying.)
Contrary to the way it may seem, our approach to this
issue is not on a moral plane, but a practical one.
When we set modest standards and expectations, that
is exactly what we get. Moreover, our study of high
performance organizations over the last decade
suggests strongly that people dislike losing, and just
don’t like “hanging around with turkeys.” While at the
water cooler we whine and moan about high
standards and expectations, but at the end of the day,
we appreciate them, because we know intuitively that
they are a necessary precursor to winning. Hence,
high expectations, accompanied by ambitious goals
are a fundamental factor in tapping into the wellspring
of discretionary effort.
Former CEO and President of Automatic Data
Processing, Inc., Josh Weston was fond of saying that
he “would rather attempt a goal of climbing 4 stairs
and accomplish only 3, than to only attempt 2 in the
first place.” Having worked for the man for nearly five
years, I can vouch for the fact that he gave (and got) a
full measure of effort. And yes, despite the fact that he
was a tough guy to please, if you had set the bar high,
given it your best and still come up a little short, he
made it a point to let you know that he appreciated the
effort. Climb on.