Don't Mess With The Gods

On the day that Nick Nurse became head coach of the Toronto Raptors, the team’s VP of Player Health walked into his office and said, “I’m going to set you up with Phil”.

After thirteen championships across three of the NBA’s defining eras, Phil doesn’t require a surname. He’s a god-like figure in pro basketball.

So when Phil responded to the introduction by inviting Nurse to join him at his home in Montana, Nurse jumped on the next flight.

“I arrived without knowing how long Phil wanted to give me — an hour, a lunch, a day? I had no idea,” Nurse writes in his autobiography.

A coffee turned into an afternoon of driving around eating cherries, which turned into dinner and an evening sitting on Phil’s front deck. The next morning: Phil wanted to meet for breakfast.

Nurse recalls, “it ended up being a three-day visit, and it was helpful in getting my mind right for what was in front of me.”

Godly Advice

After three days picking the brain of the legendary Phil Jackson, what do you think Nick Nurse took away?

You might guess that he learnt the secrets of the famed Triangle Offense.

“We didn’t talk much about the triangle. And besides, it would be a huge waste of time,” Nurse admits.

You’re closer to the mark if you guessed that Nurse took away some lessons on managing superstar players.

“He left me with some advice on my interactions with players. He told me there’d be times I’d need to be tough and raise my voice—and others when I’d have to be more like a gentle parent,” Nurse adds.

Most of all, the god-like NBA legend left Nick Nurse with some advice about the gods:

It’s noteworthy that the key piece of knowledge that the NBA’s greatest coach wants to pass along to the next generation has nothing to do with basketball itself.

Rather: put the team first, or else!

In summarizing the lesson, Nurse writes: “What I took as his message was that lots of stuff was in my control as a coach, but that if I did not handle things correctly, heavenly forces would make sure I pay a price”.

Jackson’s advice isn’t just relevant for basketball coaches. It’s equally applicable to you and me.

Have you let the trappings of the job drag you away from making the best decision for your team?

Cody’s Notes

• When head coaches lose their way, they can often trace it back to a time when they made a solitary decision that they knew compromised their team-first principles.

• Once you make this misaligned decision, you open the floodgates to disruptors who are looking to capitalize on your slip-up.

• You pay the price when these compromised decisions build up, creating cracks in your culture, and encouraging further unprincipled decisions.

• If you’re having godly problems with your team, why are you avoiding dealing with them swiftly and immediately? What are you afraid of?

• The good news is, even heavenly forces have a dark side and a light side. You can use the gods to your benefit by returning to a decision-making paradigm that is truly team-first. This may be difficult at first, as it will require removing power and influence from individuals who aren’t serving the team’s interest.

• As the ultimate leader, it can be difficult for a head coach to identify compromised decisions in real-time. It is often a momentary lapse during a period of fogginess or overwhelm that invites the godly wrath.

• It’s good practice to have a second set of eyes to ensure you are making truly team-first decisions, or point out a key situation that you’ve been avoiding.