TIME TO CHOOSE YOUR PEOPLEJerry Colangelo said it best: “Guys who play together can beat a group of all-stars on any given night.” Team over talent. Collective identity over individual ego.
For one thing, there is no substitute for talent. And while a great attitude and solid game plan will take you far, you cannot achieve at the highest level without having some aptitude.
Youthful enthusiasm is an essential element for any team.
“From one day we set a tone,” Jason Kidd said. “We respected what each other had done but the bottom line was the desire to win.”
Before we left the small state to pose for photographs holding USA uniforms, Jerry was asked the inevitable, “what if” question: What if we lose? His answer was perfect, “We never worry about what might happen, we look forward to what will happen.” We could not allow our team progress to be stifled by “what ifs” or the pressure of outside expectations. We had to look at our mission with a feeling of excitement for what lay ahead, not a feeling or fear for what
could go wrong. Anticipation. Not expectation.
Remember that choosing your people is the first decision you will make as a leader. Take the time to make it a good one.
Leaders sometimes get caught up too early in what the mission will be. And the mission is crucially important. But your team’s people are the ones who are going to accomplish that mission. Before you get into the details of your strategy, your X’s and O’s, you have to decide first who is the X and who is the O.
From: "The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team" by Mike Krzyzewski
