Like many of you, I have been watching The Last Dance as we have been shut down during the COVID19 crisis. This documentary covers the last season of the Chicago Bulls dynasty. I think it is fascinating, and as I watched, I found myself making mental notes of lessons I can learn from this championship team. Most of these lessons come under an overall theme of what price are you willing to pay?
You have dreams, you have passions, you have goals. How much are you willing to pay for them? When I was in the fifth grade my Dad put a big sticker on the dresser mirror that my brother and I shared. It read, “It takes a little more to make a champion”. Indeed it does. Here are some lessons of the “more” the Bulls exhibited.
Winning requires commitment and sacrifice:
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
Michael Jordan
Everybody in the world knew that the 97-98 season would be the last for Head Coach Phil Jackson (and likely Michael Jordan) with the Bulls. They had won five championships in the past seven seasons, but the window was closing. How bad did they want another trophy? Winning at the highest level requires an all-in attitude. You cannot hedge your bets when you want to be a champion.
Your hopes and dreams and passions are just ideas in your head if you don’t commit to them, if you don’t sacrifice for them. So you have to decide what, in your current state, you are willing to give up to meet that goal. If you want to change your future, you will need to sacrifice now. What are you willing to give up…time, sleep, relationships, energy, pleasure, leisure? You must change your behavior in the present to maximize the probability of success in the future.
Winners work hard:
“The one thing I do that nobody else does is jump three and four times for one rebound.”
Dennis Rodman
Hard work is the preparation, the effort and training, that lifts your performance. Allen Iverson, a contemporary of Michael Jordan’s in the NBA, famously-or infamously-ridiculed the importance of practice in a press conference. Jordan had a completely opposite view of practice. In interview after interview he talked about how he used practice to take his talent to ability. He used that ability to take on the best defenders in the game and still make the game-winning shot. The Bulls did not waste what they sacrificed. They prepared their minds, bodies and team to perform better than ever.
Winners deal with team members as individuals:
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”
Phil Jackson
One of the key components to the Bulls team was Dennis Rodman…a unique character for sure. In the world of uber discipline and accountability-the world of professional sports- Dennis Rodman was a bit of a free-spirit. At some point in time during The Last Dance season Dennis said that he needed a vacation. He wanted to go to Vegas. Now 9,999 times out of 10,000 the franchise would not even think about allowing a player to “take a vacation” during the season. That said, head coach Phil Jackson recognized that Dennis needed to be managed differently than the rest of the team and probably differently than any other player that ever played in the NBA. Coach Jackson gave him permission to take 48 hours and have a vacation in Vegas. Mega star Michael Jordan objected saying that if he goes to Vegas we’ll never see him again. In the end, Jordan had to go to Vegas and get Rodman and bring him back to the team. The quote above comes when Phil Jackson was determined to work Rodman back into playing shape after his multi-day bender in Vegas.
Both the head coach and the unquestioned leader of the team recognized that they had to treat Dennis unique to Dennis. We can apply this to our own teams too. While we all want to be consistent, we have to recognize that every individual has their own set of needs, wants, desires, idiosyncrasies, passions, beliefs, etc. Therefore, we need to know our team members and understand what makes them tick, and thereby lead them in the way they need for the team to reach its goals.
Winners have high expectations.
“…we got better along the way, and we started to taste the success. With that came the pressure and expectations to be successful.”
Scottie Pippen
To a man on that team, they had one goal. NBA Championship. They were not going to be content with making the play-offs, or Eastern Conference Finals, or even making the NBA Finals. Their benchmark was winning the NBA Championship. Nothing less would be acceptable, because when you have high standards, you don’t accept less from yourself or others. Conversely, if your expectations are lower, it is easier to let things go and the performance of the team suffers. These high expectations will set the standard for all you do including your work out, your diet, and your time management. All these contribute to winning whether on the basketball court, construction site, or in the boardroom.
Winners have no excuses.
“A loss is not a failure until you make an excuse. When excuses are no longer an option, you can focus your attention on the job you have to do, and not why it didn’t get done.”
Michael Jordan
Entering into the 97-98 NBA season, the Bulls already knew that it was their coach’s last year for the team, and most understood that the core of the team would not be back the following year. Instead of allowing the news and media to distract them from their goal, they doubled down on their focus and adopted a “no excuses” team attitude. But this core had already shown that they made no excuses.
- Michael Jordan was cut from the basketball team as a freshman in high school. Instead of moving on to something else, he worked even harder and ultimately earned a scholarship to play at the University of North Carolina.
- Steve Kerr was born in war torn Lebanon and his dad was assassinated when he was a freshman in college. He did not let this be an excuse for poor play.
- Scottie Pippen grew up very poor and could not afford college and had not yet excelled in basketball. He attended little University of Central Arkansa and worked his way to a first round draft pick.
- Dennis Rodman did not know his dad and his mom couldn’t keep it together. This resulted in him being homeless for parts of his childhood. He rarely played on his highschool team. Despite this he was given a chance to play at Cooke County (TX) College, but he flunked out. Did this stop him? No, he transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State and finally excelled in basketball and didn’t flunk out.
The deeper you look the more reasons you find as to why many of them could be excused for giving up. But not these Bulls. If you want to be a champion, you cannot make excuses for yourself or your team.
The Chicago Bulls of this era were outstanding and the Last Dance helps us recall the excellence of that team. I know I can use some of these nuggets in my life. We all want to win. Every winning organization has members that drive these points. I hope that you become one of those individuals who drives your team to greater success. Join me in putting these winning lessons into practice.
