Tag Archives: basketball

The Courage to Ask

kobe bryant courage to ask

You might not know that I’m a big basketball fan. Along with the UFC, it’s the sport I follow the most. So, every once in a while I’ll find interesting lessons that apply to my “better your best” mindset. For example, during this year’s playoffs Isaiah Thomas, point guard of the Boston Celtics, reached out to NBA legend Kobe Bryant for some help on studying film. Kobe Bryant, as we’ve seen before, was obsessive about offense and defense during his playing days and is one of the reasons why he’s an all-time great.

Strategy: Keep the ball moving

I’m a basketball junkie so I was delighted to read Fast Company’s excellent which examines how Nash runs his work life outside of basketball, just like the Suns offense, in constant chaos. Nash runs THE most unorthodox offense in the NBA, which is unplanned, unpredictable and all on the fly.

 

No one better embodies the metabolism of our times, when industries, technologies, and careers are in constant flux. In leading Phoenix to the league’s best record to start this season and, most likely, to a return to the play-offs, Nash demonstrates how to navigate uncertainty — with flexibility, collaboration, and inventiveness. He has developed a gift for finding order in chaos. He adapts to new information, assesses the risks, and creates opportunities for him and his teammates to succeed. Nash improvises.

We all need to be improvisers now, to transition between the jobs we have and the backup plans we may need to pursue in the current economic crisis. Between the ways we’re accustomed to working and the new habits shaped by Twitter, Facebook, and other new tech tools. Between the recession and the postrecession world.

Both on and off the court, Nash’s exploits illuminate lessons about how to manage these transitions.

 

Why you should you read it? Very simple…because he improvises strategy on the fly and that is how companies business strategy should be developed. Learn from Steve Nash, stay ahead of the game by keeping the ball moving.