by 360Digital Talent | Feb 10, 2015 | Blog
A management genius shuffled off this mortal coil this past weekend. Trouble is, we all mistook him for a basketball coach. In 1961, a little-known assistant coach named Dean Smith took over as leader of the University of North Carolina basketball program. In his 36 years as the Tar Heels’ head coach, he won two national titles, won at least 20 games for 27 consecutive seasons, and became the architect for one of the top five college basketball programs of all time. His achievements as a coach make him a giant in the world of basketball… but it turns out he was also a damn good manager. In the aftermath of his passing, NBC and Yahoo Sports have surfaced a letter written by the already-great Smith in 1983 to a promising, yet skinny, freshman on his team. One Michael Jordan received this concise assessment of areas where improvement was needed (click image for full size): In short, Coach Smith puts on an absolute clinic on giving performance reviews. Let’s break this one down: 1. This is a review full of respect. One of the greats in the game just called this skinny 18-year-old “Mr. Michael Jordan.” A small signal, but one that shows the way. We’re less formal in this day and age, but respect that rolls downhill never loses momentum. 2. Coach gave the review in person. This letter is a follow-up. This wasn’t a hearts-and-flowers retrospective, just a senior manager who knows what he’s doing giving face-to-face advice to one of the new kids. It comes from relationship. 3. The review is specific. If you’re not conversant...
by 360Digital Talent | Feb 2, 2015 | Blog, Thought Leadership
After an amazing Super Bowl, Pete Carroll is looking like a lot of CEOs these days. Why? He made the wrong call. Or did he? As most of America knows, Pete Carroll is the coach of the Seattle Seahawks. In Sunday’s Super Bowl game against the New England Patriots, his team had a golden opportunity to win the game in the last minute. Near the goal line, he called a passing play for his team when “accepted wisdom” was to run the ball using their superstar back Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch. The Patriots intercepted the pass, ran out the clock, and won the game and the title. The play was a gamble. Carroll admitted as much after the game. He thought the Patriots would be ready for a running play, and took a chance on a passing play. He took full accountability. Naturally, Pete’s being roasted on the Internet by Seahawks fans, who are using “idiot”, “brainless”, and “he should walk up to a cliff and keep walking” in their post-game commentary. Here’s the thing. Like most of us in our business pursuits, he didn’t make the wrong call. In order to get into the Super Bowl, Pete’s team needed to execute on one risky play after another to come from behind and beat the Green Bay Packers. He was hailed as a motivational genius. At the end of the first half of Sunday’s game, he took a risk by passing for a touchdown instead of settling for a sure-thing field goal. Chat boards were praising Pete as a master tactician. Pete did what Pete does. He took calculated...
