After a big storm, I took one look at my disastrous yard and thought, I’ve got to get my house in order! My drop-in approach of cleaning up only when I feel inspired gets an A for magical thinking and a D on the success scale. Can you relate?
In the April series, Cultivate a Success Mindset with Soft Skills, we’re talking about life lessons from Mike Krzyzewski. Last week, we discussed how Coach K thinks success begins in the mind rather than the gym. But a positive outlook is only part of the equation. The other part of success is having a framework or a set of house rules.
As you can imagine, dropping in when you feel like it doesn’t make Coach K’s house rules shortlist. Instead, he knows that the showing up athletes do day in and day out—physical conditioning and strength training in the gym, running drills, and knowing the playbook—is the way to close the gap between winning and losing. Coach K says, “My hunger is not for success; it is for excellence. Because when you attain excellence, success just naturally follows.”
Let me tell you how Coach K changed the house rules and came home with the gold.
Team USA needed a serious overhaul. Jerry Colangelo, former Phoenix Suns basketball team owner, thought he had pulled together the best of the best for the Olympics. There was only one problem: The trophy case that should have been filled with gold medals was empty. So, he decided to hire Coach K. Coach studied the program end-to-end, and immediately had some thoughts.
First, he set a house rule banning drop-ins. They couldn’t adequately prepare for the Olympics by treating it like a pick-up game at the local gym. Chemistry and trust happened one practice at a time. So, players were required to make a 3-year commitment.
His next house rule was for everyone to keep the team at the top of their stack rank priorities. Individual statistics drove that success, but Team USA had to form a cohesive unit to achieve consistent results. Coach K remembered, “They need to be superstars on their individual NBA teams. But on this team, they’re not—not one of them is that. There’s not one person who should be dominant. The team is dominant.”
Three gold medals later, the results speak for themselves.
As you listen to Team USA’s turnaround story, are you inspired to start your own transformation? What house rules could you set in motion that would make a difference from once-in-a-while results to everyday results?
Here’s the key ingredient: Skip huge leaps. Instead, use Coach K’s model of meaningful course corrections that will pay big dividends. For instance, do you need to say, “In this house, I…”
When you set and follow your personal house rules, you’re achieving the soft skill of running your day well. But productivity doesn’t happen simply by declaring it to be so. That What happens through soft skill How tactics like creativity, adaptability, empathy, and discernment. Does that sound confusing or complicated?
Here’s what I mean:
It’s simple: Your results will be hit and miss every time if you take the drop-in approach (like I did with my garden)! So, cultivate the success mindset by getting your house in order. This week, make a new set of house rules.