Popovich: “I want some nasty!”
So I have turned from the Funny Football Female to the Bawdy Basketball Broad. Transformation complete—at least for the next 30 days during these NBA Championship Playoffs. The NFL season is still about 100 days away (sigh) and I long for some “necessary roughness.” Well, Sunday night, was—in the words of Larry David– pret—ty, pret—ty good. First game of the Western Division Championship Playoffs—Spurs vs. Thunder—experience vs. youth. The Spurs were behind by 9 points. It was the 4th quarter. The camera turns to the sidelines as Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich, implores his team to victory. He starts real cool: “Are we having fun yet?” he asks, rhetorically. “We need a little bit more nasty,” he says, which warms the cockles of my roughness-loving heart. He continued, “I’m seeing unconfidence. . .there’s hesitation. It’s not supposed to be easy. Shoot with confidence. I want some NASTY.” Popovich is one of the best coaches EVER in the NBA, and a really good guy, besides. He didn’t raise his voice at all, nor did he call out any individual players. The impact of his little speech and the result? His team went OFF—scored 9 points in a row and more—won the game! Manu Ginobili, by his own admission after the game, never played so well the whole season as he did the last few minutes of this game! Wow. I have always admired Gregg Popovich. We have three things in common: he is born in Chicago, he is an Aquarius, and he’s a wine enthusiast. He also could be a management trainer!
I am so inspired by Popovich—I wish I had a class of managers to speak to today. I am fired up and ready to go! I would remind them that managing is getting results through people. Not only do you need to be clear about what you expect from them (sports teams are numbers/results obsessed), but you have to supply the tools, time, training, and help necessary to get the results. And you need to give them FEEDBACK—bad or good. And you need to MOTIVATE—like Popovich, but in your own unique, sincere style. I’ve been preaching this stuff since the 70’s, and it never grows old. In fact, the people I preach to have gotten a lot YOUNGER! Lolz. But leading people and managing them is where it’s at. And if you are serious about doing it, you will be watching the great leaders do it (like Popovich), and reading, and thinking, and doing, so you can be prepared to be the best you can be. I still quote the legendary motivation expert, Frederick Herzberg, who said that the powerful motivator in our lives isn’t money: it’s the opportunity to learn, grow in responsibilities, contribute to others, and be recognized for achievements. How will your life be judged a “success?” Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. Almost 35 years old, Manu is walking on sunshine today, doncha think?