Last week a friend asked this question: If you were starting a business, what athlete would you choose first? This wasn't a trick question; it was a question about the characteristics we deemed most important in a key employee.
After telling him I had a few "hazy" options that I couldn't immediately identify, I went with Derek Jeter. I told him that Jeter, along with Don Mattingly, showed more respect for his profession than any other athlete we were privileged to watch. For us, respect is the ultimate driver of business success, especially in the area of relationship building.
The other hazy options did come to us afterwards. And both are, incredibly (give me a moment . . . I'll get this out . . . ) Boston athletes. Bobby Orr and Larry Bird possessed the magical ability to improve the performance of every player around them (a point my friend cited as the trait he considered most valuable).
One statistic demonstrates this better than all others: assists. Orr has the third highest assists-per-game average in NHL history. That his number approaches Gretzky's and Mario's is literally incredible, since he played defense. His physical skills were clearly superior to virtually everyone who ever played hockey on planet earth, but that he used those skills largely to assist others—and not simply to take off on one end-to-end rush after another—proves his value. Others benefited from his skills. Indisputable, in black and white.
Bird? Maybe even more unbelievable. He averaged far more assists than the other two greatest forwards in NBA history, Julius Erving and Karl Malone. His assists were double Malone's, while he averaged virtually identical points and rebound numbers. All three of Bird's numbers outpaced Erving's. Bird's assist number almost matches Lebron James' to this point. And we'd all agree James may be the most freakishly gifted physical specimen in the history of sports; Bird was, umm, not quite that physically gifted.
Yes, Bird was perhaps the most clutch player (Jerry West?) in NBA history, but his ability to set up other players sets him apart.
And a word about all these assists. Let's make the grandiose assumption that after a pass was made, the other player had at least a modicum of work to do before a goal or point was scored. The other player had ultimate responsibility for completing the play successfully. So Orr and Bird weren't merely helping others, they were handing off serious responsibility.
And isn't that a cornerstone of teamwork? Giving each player increasing responsibility, so the player can grow and prosper . . . as the team will, collectively. And isn't that one of the definitions of valuable? (Actually, it is; valuable means, literally, of great use or service.)
So bring your "A Game" guys. And be prepared to outwork the other guys. And then work some more. And never, ever lose your focus on racking up those assists. Because what is one other thing that Jeter, Orr and Bird have in common?
No comments:
Post a Comment