From Leadership to Championship |
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Copyright © 2008 Soy-n-Joy® From Leadership to Championship Basketball fans will remember the 2008 NCAA championship game for a long, long time. It was 2 minutes and 12 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Memphis Tigers, coached by John Calipari, were still up by nine on top of the Kansas Jayhawks, coached by Bill Self, and looked almost certain to clinch their first NCAA title. But then, events suddenly turned in the Jayhawks' favor. The Tigers' free throws were not falling, and the Jayhawks "willed" the game into overtime. The rest was history. Many Monday morning quarterbacks attributed the results to player execution down the stretch, particularly the miserable free throws, a weakness bugging the Tigers all season long. John Calipari even found an excuse for his players' missed free throws: "These kids are not robots." But prior to the final game, the Tigers had been shooting 80% plus from the free throw line during March Madness. While there was truth that luck played a part in the Jayhawks' triumph, Bill Self's effective leadership of the Kansas squad, helped by the Kansas brand in college basketball, had much to do with Kansas' success. Like any competition between entities, whether it be competition between countries, firms, teams, or families, talent management is crucial in determining success. It is not good enough to own the best talents, but critical to have them work together to optimize collective impact. The ideal scenario is to have outstanding talents, orchestrated by a visionary, passionate leader, who can devise insightful, actionable strategies, and align and motivate the team to get the job done, together. Bill Self is exactly one inspiring leader and creative strategist. No doubt, the reputation of Kansas basketball heritage and Self's magnetism had helped him recruit needed talents. Unlike Memphis featuring two star guards, Kansas did not have the nation's best-known players, but they had the deepest bench. Just look at bench-point productions: The Tigers had a couple and the Jayhawks had a bundle. When the game got into overtime, the writing was already on the wall: The Tigers' starters were fatigued, particularly after their best defender fouled out before regulation. Whereas the Jayhawks could rely on the fresh legs of their deep talents, and execute a running game or a half-court game at will. After the Jayhawks poured in six points in overtime, the game was effectively over. Bill Self also appeared to be a disciple of Sun Tzu's. In their Elite Eight victory over Davidson, an aspiring Cinderella, Kansas won by only two points. The results were deceptively close and disarmed Kansas' next opponent, the nation's number-one-ranked UNC. When every other regional number-one seed going to the Final Four blew away their opponent, Kansas appeared only able to grab and crawl there. And when they got there and faced formidable UNC, they surprised the UNC coach, Roy Williams, with a fast-paced running game that put the Jayhawks ahead by 28 early. Never in Roy Williams' memory had UNC ever been down 28. And the four big men of Kansas stifled UNC's Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough. Although UNC struggled to come back, they fell short. Roy Williams appeared truly surprised at Kansas's overwhelming speed, because Kansas had four big guys, who, by conventional wisdom, were not supposed to be agile. Bill Self effectively executed a surprise attack, Sun Tzu style. Roy Williams could only admit after the game, "I did not prepare my team very well." Bill Self exhibited humility when people asked him about the speech he made to players in the locker room before tip-off. He said it was a scripted clip made for TV. But it was a brilliant script. He told his players to be themselves and enjoy the game, and promised it was going to be one of the most memorable nights that they would remember for the rest of their lives. On the one hand, he defused his players of unnecessary stress that might jeopardize judgment on the floor, and on the other, irrespective of outcome, motivated his players to give their best and play as a team to make the evening truly memorable. And they walked away with the championship. Is John Calipari walking away one bitter man? No, he is traveling to China to interview potential trainee coach and player talents for exchange programs with Memphis. He is choosing a differentiated talent strategy to help him build a deep Tigers' team for the future. Do not be surprised at all that the next Yao Ming comes from a future Memphis squad. Isn't global competition about winning with a global strategy using global resources and talents? First Posted 4-21-08 If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us at contactus@soynjoy.net. |