Lessons From Sports (part 2)
Posted By Aaron Marcelli on March 2, 2010
In my last post I mentioned that the I like watching the Atlanta Hawks but they are not my favorite basketball team. That honor goes to my childhood hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last week the “cavs” made a major trade. As the NBA trade deadline got closer, there was a lot of rumors about a cavs trade and on the last possible day, they made a very large move to bring in a big name player in hopes of strengthening their chances of winning a championship this year. They didn’t have to give up much and the trade certainly made the cavs a better team. All the fans liked the trade. It was a smart business move.
An interesting fact though, is that at the moment of the trade, the cavs already had the best record in the NBA this year. Pretty much all the sports experts on ESPN were already choosing them to make it to the finals….before the trade. So why did they make this move?
They did it because they still felt the could (and needed to) get better. They needed a big man who could shoot. They are always on the lookout for team players. If you a the general manager of a sports team, you are ALWAYS looking to make your team better. So even though they had the best record, and even though some already saw them as the favorites to win it all, they chose to validate those who believe in them rather than just coast on expectations and past performance.
Sadly, I don’t see this aggressive and strategic movements in all industries. Many companies I have seen have very low expectations or a mission statement that employees have no pressure to live up to. I have personally experienced having coworkers tell me, “if it aint broken, don’t fix it.” In my opinion, that statement is nothing but an excuse for mediocrity. What is “broke”? The company loosing money? A practice that causes injuries on the job? A ridiculously high amount of customer complaints? Is it not possible that most companies and their systems could prevent becoming “broke” by always looking to adjust and make improvements along the way?
In our businesses, our churches, and our personal lives, we should always be looking for opportunities to become better rather than waiting for “broke” to admit we need some fixing. Good job Cleveland Cavaliers for seizing the chance to become great, even though you were already good!
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