For anyone who wants to be a leader, here are Ten Commandments of my own:
I. Don't accept status quo.
Look for better when others are satisfied.
II. Always question.
The best of all questions: “Why?”
III. Always worry.
If you can’t think of a thing to be worried about, worry about being overconfident.
IV. Look for improvements to make in yourself or bad habits to break.
Don’t drink to excess or smoke at all, give the proven cancer risks.
V. Don’t act without evidence or buy something without checking thoroughly.
Before job interviews, eliminate all possible reasons not to be hired.
VI. Be skeptical-untrusting.
In every theory, look for proof. Verify, as President Reagan said.
VII. Make your players or employees work to get better-encourage them, challenge them, maybe even inspire them to do it, but make it clear that the “same old, same old” is not acceptable.
When they’re saying “The boss is never satisfied,” count it as a compliment. (I heard that one of my players once said, “He’ll never be satisfied until we hit every shot and shut the other team out.” He didn’t know me well enough. They’d better all be A+ students, and never have thrown the ball away either.)
VIII. Never think talent alone will determine the outcome, whether it’s your side versus the other side in a game or a competitive deal.
Plan and train so that your side makes fewer mistakes.
IX. Never talk too much.
Get yourself a degree from the Shut-Up School and remember it when talking about your competitors, whether they’re a sports team or a sales team. Self-promotion and gloating never have a place; let your products or your performance do the talking. I hate it when a coach or a player boasts about his own team before a big game. That’s an incentive to the other side.
X. Never stop looking for new ideas.
Be self-critical of your beliefs when others offer possible alternatives. Remember, you’re not the inventor of the wheel or the Internet. Learn from the wisdom of others-listen to people who came before, like the playwright George Bernard Shaw: “Some see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ I see things as they could be and ask, ‘Why not?’”
