Image credit: Bob Horsch
[UPDATE: Due to the positive feedback I received on this series I turned it into a short book called “Lead Like Mike”. If you want to support me and read the ten posts all in one place you can now order the book here.]
Welcome back! If you haven’t, check out episode 8. It’s about emotional intelligence.
My favorite thing about the Chicago Bulls from the Jordan era was that they seemed like a team of superheroes because each player had one overarching superpower. Jordan was the scorer. Dennis Rodman was a rebounding master. Steve Kerr made over 50% of his three-point shots. And Scottie Pippen was the wingman.
Everyone had one specific role. These roles were by design and not by chance. Jordan was the leader. But if he tried to score 60 points every knight the team would lose. The team won when everyone was given space to play their role and contribute.
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
Michael Jordan
Jordan’s hunger for winning was bigger than his personal ego so when his coach Phill Jackson told him to do less so that others can do more he understood. In episode 9 we learned about the most well-known game of Jordan’s life. What has always been referred to as “The Flu game” during the 1996 finals against the Utah Jazz. Turns out it wasn’t the flu.
What actually happened, according to Jordan, was that he ordered a late-night pizza, but he felt a bit strange when five dudes delivered it. It’s possible they all wanted to get a sneak peek of Air Jordan himself. Tim Grover, Jordan’s longtime trainer, said he immediately “got a bad feeling” about all of these guys delivering one pizza.
“I ate the pizza all by myself,” Jordan said. “I wake up about 2:30 [a.m.] throwing up left and right. It really wasn’t the ‘Flu Game.’ It was food poisoning.”
Grover shows up to Jordan’s room and finds him “curled up in a ball shaking.” Jordan spends the next day vomiting, resting, and receiving fluids intravenously. Despite his mother telling him to rest and almost zero sleep, he plays in game 5.
No way Jordan would sit this out.
Woozy, looking visibly weak, Jordan recalls his thought process at the time during an interview in the documentary. “I’m going to try,” “If anything, I can be a decoy.”
As soon as the game started everyone could see that something was terribly wrong and that’s where the “flu game” was born. The most memorable scene that game is when Jordan sinks a clutch three-pointer for the win and then melts into Scottie Pippen’s arms as he’s partially carried off the court. Jordan ended that night with 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Even with Jordan sick, everyone on the team instinctively knew their roles. The team won.
Then came game six.
Recalling that final game Steve Kerr said “I hadn’t performed very well in the Finals”. “I was struggling. I was so hard on myself. As a role player, I’d get five shots a game. Every shot took on way too much importance.”
In the final minutes of the game, Phil Jackson drew a play for Jordan to take the last shot. Anticipating the double-team, Jordan covers his mouth with a cup (to block the TV cameras from hearing/seeing him speak) and whispers to Steve Kerr to be ready to take the last shot.
Kerr responds over-enthusiastically making it totally obvious that Jordan was going to pass him the ball by almost yelling “If he comes off, I’ll be ready!”
Just as planned, John Stockton from the Utah Jazz left Kerr to double-team Jordan. As soon as Stockton arrived, Jordan passed the ball to Kerr who takes the long-range shot and sinks it in. The Chicago Bulls won the 1997 NBA championship.
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE #9: Choose your starting five.
In both of these two wins, Jordan was the leading scorer and played amazing so his teammates get overshadowed but in both examples, they won because they made each other better and each player had a specific role or contribution to make it. Be intentional about surrounding yourself with a winning team.
Who are your starting five?
Imagine if we looked at our relationships in that way.
Personal development expert, Jim Rohn, said, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Who are the five you spend the most time with?
And are they helping you?
Are your relationships interdependent (mutually beneficial)?
You can’t choose your family, right? But you can pick your friendships and network. It’s so critical to surround ourselves with people we can learn from and grow from because those relationships create our environment.
I once heard someone say something like if you’re the smartest person in the room, you need to change rooms.
Your environment is key.
So, why not surround yourself with the key people (friendships, network, coaches, mentors, etc) that make you better and inspire you to be, do, and have more? Do you have people or experts you can ask about investing, marriage, health, career advice, faith, or whatever is important to you?
It’s teamwork that makes the dream work. Superman worked by himself, but everyone else needs help.
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Having a team or a few specific role players in your life you can turn to for help, support, advice, and community is so helpful.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
African Proverb
The fastest way to create the changes we want in our lives is by placing ourselves in an environment where those things are already happening. If you hang out with people who love to exercise you’ll start exercising.
If you spend most of your time with people who are great with money and investing you’ll learn from them.
What would happen if you hang out with people who strive for excellence? You’ll probably be influenced.
We humans are not as creative as we think we are. Generally speaking, we are more likely to blend into our environments whether they are positive or negative.
I know this is a big generalization. But peer pressure is real. However, there can be both positive and negative peer pressure.
So, are you being intentional about creating a winning team?