Avoid the intersection of ignorance and arrogance

The rules are simple: Tell the world what is so important to you at this moment in 140 characters or less. That’s it.

Welcome to the vastly growing universe of Twitter.

If you’re like me, you might scoff at this notion and question the relevance of such communication. Why would anyone want to tell the world such things? And, more importantly, who would care what I have to say?

To begin answering these questions, follow me at www.twitter.com/d_j_allen.

Being a part of the Twitter world is not about the way I want to communicate with others. It’s about the way other people want to be communicated with. We must resist the urge to stay ignorant to the way technology has changed communication.

Former NBA player and current UNLV assistant basketball coach Steve Henson tells the story about Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek at a recent workshop. Sendek told the group of coaches that if you are that guy who brags about not knowing how to turn on a computer, you are already way behind in the profession.

We all know someone like that, or, worse off, we might actually be that person. Many of us like to mask our incompetence with something new by devaluing its relevance. Often, we do this without taking the time to actually learn the details.

The intersection of ignorance and arrogance is a dangerous place to dwell. We all must seek to avoid it in the many areas of our lives.

Communicating with others is not about what we say – it’s about what other people hear. Without the ability to communicate with others at a high level, great ideas or institutional knowledge are limited in their usefulness. (In our decade of assisting businesses and organizations, we’ve found that 95% of problems in organizations occur from poor internal communication. And, generally, it begins with a poor communicator at the top.)

It all starts with understanding your audience. In the college basketball world, coaches are looking to reach out to teenage athletes and persuade them to play for their respective programs.

Coaches are kidding themselves if they think these young men are going to sit down and read full-length letters that adequately describe the benefits of attending a particular institution.

And it’s not just the younger generations. In fact, how many of us actually sit down and read all of the full-length letters we get? Give me bullet points. Text me. Shoot me a quick e-mail.

This is not to say it is right. In my perfect world, everyone would love to take three minutes to read columns such as this. And everyone would love to listen to me make 45-60-minute presentations. However, that world is not reality.

We must know our audiences and talk to them. Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari (www.twitter.com/UKCoachCalipari) and USC football coach Pete Carroll (www.twitter.com/PeteCarroll) have mastered this. If you did not know who they were, you might think some of their posts were from teenagers themselves. But this is not about what you and I think, this is about what their potential recruits think. And that is the lifeline of their respective careers.

My co-author of “The Xs & Os of Success” and UNLV head basketball coach Lon Kruger (www.twitter.com/LonKruger) joined the Twitter world just this past week, and this is what he had to say to Steve Guiremand of RebelNation: “It’s the way young people are communicating,” the 56-year-old Kruger said.

Period. It’s that simple. It’s not about him, it’s about his audience.

Twitter, Facebook, texting, e-mails, etc. They are all valuable tools in today’s world of communicating – just like good old fashioned letters, telephone calls and (the granddaddy of them all) the face-to-face conversation. Each one of them is valuable in their own way with different sets of audiences.

When preparing to communicate with others, think about the ways your audience wants to best receive the message. Then proceed.

Make it less about you and more about them. That is how we succeed as communicators – and, ultimately, as people.

The sport of Motown?

Between writing the book with Coach Kruger and preparing entries for this blog, I have spent much of the past two years examining the parallels between teamwork in business, life and sports.

Today, we are calling an audible. Let’s talk about the teamwork needed in producing a live, Motown musical experience. After all, it’s the same type of teamwork needed in any sport, business or family.

Had the opportunity recently to take in the new Las Vegas show featuring the amazingly talented Australian vocal group, Human Nature, at the Imperial Palace. Presented by Smokey Robinson, the show is appropriately subtitled, “The Ultimate Celebration of Motown.”

The four-man group’s a cappella versions of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” as well as Robinson’s own “Ooh Baby Baby” were nothing short of spectacular. Forget emotional, the performances were spiritual.

But what also captivated me throughout the evening was watching the team work together. There is a formula to the success of such groups. It requires all four members of the team to be humble enough to understand and honor their own ever-changing roles throughout the entire performance.

In the premier Motown-style groups, three of the four vocalists are strong enough singers to be the front man at any given time. They are each talented enough to be in the spotlight and lead the entire show. However, those same three performers must also be willing to fall back to simply being a back-up singer and supporting one of his teammates at various times throughout the performance.

Noticing this, I found myself intrigued watching the “back-up” singers during the last half of the show. They always played their roles, never trying to do too much (sometimes even seconds after being the center of attention). It was time for their teammate to shine, not them.

While this was happening, two things about teamwork in this industry became very apparent. First, the simplicity of the dance steps caught my attention. Imagine one person doing the Motown-style dance steps by himself. (You might chuckle.) The moves are rather basic and, in fact, can be a bit hokey. But performed together with two or three other members in unison, the simple dance steps create magic. The same thing can be said about our lives at work, in the community and at home. If we keep doing the simple things that we are supposed to do every day – in unison with and in support of those around us – magic can happen.

Second, my admiration grew for the fourth member of the group – the bass. While he may have his special moment or two during the show – designed specifically for him to show off his deep voice – his job is to provide a foundation for the rest of the vocals to build upon. The bass is basically out of the spotlight for 95% of the show. However, without a talented bass, any such vocal group will fail. The performer in this position must be humble enough to understand his role is to make his teammates look better – much like an offensive lineman in football or a pass-first point guard in basketball.

For Motown-style groups, there needs to be as much harmony in their actions as they have in their voices. These are lessons all of us can use in our lives with all of our different teammates.

Hopefully, we are strong enough to be lead singers when called upon. But it takes even stronger individuals to also be able to serve as great back-up singers when that is what is required.

Are you making plays for teammates?

LeBron gets it.

In the March 25, 2009 edition of Sports Illustrated, Dan Patrick’s “Just My Type” column featured a Q&A with NBA MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Here is one of Patrick’s questions with James’ answer:

Dan Patrick: Which would mean more: making a game-winning shot or dishing off for a game-winning shot?

LeBron James: Passing to a teammate and him hitting the game-winner. That means I’ve drawn the defense or drawn a double team and gotten a guy open. And to see a teammate succeed is the ultimate for me.

The other best player on the planet – Kobe Bryant – displayed this same type of philosophy last night in the Lakers’ vital game five win over Denver. Bryant took just 13 shots while adding eight assists in a must-win game for Los Angeles.

No play was more crucial than Bryant’s highlight assist to Lamar Odom with a minute left in the fourth quarter which all but put the game away. With the shot clock winding down, Bryant rose for an apparent three-point attempt which drew defenders. However, at the last moment, Bryant zipped the ball to Odom under the basket for an easy bucket plus a foul.

LeBron and Kobe. Kobe and LeBron. However you stack it, they are the two best players in the world. But neither player can win on his own. Yes, there are times they both must carry their respective teams and more often than not, they will be the guys who take the shot at the buzzer. (If you were the coach, that’s who you would want shooting the ball too, right?)

But the best leaders – in sports, in business, in our communities, in our homes – understand the better they make their teammates look, the more they will succeed.

Do you live your life wanting to make those around you look good? Do you consciously make an effort to put those around you in a position to succeed? Or, do you focus on getting credit for everything good that happens?

Successful individuals come from successful teams.

Successful teams are not made up of individuals who are concentrating on individual success and accolades. Instead, these teams are made up of strong and secure individuals who are striving to make their teammates look good.

And in the end, these individuals will receive the due accolades.

Just like James said, “To see a teammate succeed is the ultimate for me.”

Can you say the same thing?

One Loss Cannot Lead to Another

Watching the Los Angeles Dodgers without suspended superstar Manny Ramirez is intriguing right now. Despite holding the best record in baseball, the young team is extremely fragile at the moment.

Immediately following news of Manny’s positive drug test – which will sideline him for 50 games – the Dodgers lost four of their next five games and it was evident the team’s confidence had been shaken. However, with two victories over the World Series champion Phillies in Philadelphia this week, the Dodgers captured a key series victory on the road.

The team will struggle at times without Manny – there is no doubt about that. But the series victory over the Phillies may have kept the Dodgers from falling into a deep tailspin caused by the difficult and embarrassing loss of their best player.

As Lesson #29 from The Xs & Os of Success addresses, “One Loss Cannot Lead to Another.” Many of our organizations have suffered losses recently. We have to make sure we are not allowing those losses to have bigger impacts than they should. Here are a few words from this lesson:

We have all had our bad days at work.

Lost a client. Failed to close a deal. Did not meet expectations on a project. Missed sales numbers.

Business is like sports. You will not win every game. The key to being successful, however, is how you react to failure.

As a leader, your responsibility is to help your team and team members recover from failure as quickly as possible and grow from the experience. Many of us tend to spend a great portion of our time after a failure rationalizing why we failed and harping upon variables that were out of our control. While there are times external variables do play major roles in our failure, it does not benefit us to focus on them and it definitely does not help us “play the next play.”

The first step in moving forward from failure is admitting fault and taking ownership of the unsuccessful results. Only from this point will you be able to identify which variables — those you do have control of — led to the negative situation. Once these have been identified, you can then create a plan that will allow you to positively address those areas and make improvement…

The biggest winners in sports and business all lose at times. What separates them from the rest is how quickly and proactively they move on from their losses. They never allow one loss to be the cause of another loss.

Not Always Right

The New Economy has forced many of us to make decisions we never thought we would have to make. And, unfortunately, most of those are decisions we never wanted to make.

There has been a lot of positive feedback from Lesson #23 in the book, The Xs & Os of Success. It’s called “Not Always Right.” The philosophy of “Not always right, but always motivated by the right reasons” is helping many decision-makers during this time. (I know. I am one of them.)

Here's a little taste of the lesson. Hope there is a message in it you can use.

Decisions made by leaders impact numerous people. Many times one decision will impact certain team members positively while that same decision will impact another group of team members negatively.

These are the moments that make or break leaders.

Often times “being right” is subjective. Because of this, making such crucial decisions can be hazardous for leaders. Thus, the decision-making process then becomes the most important factor in this entire situation.

As a leader, you must ask yourself, “What is motivating me to make this decision?” Ultimately, your decision-making process should be consistent and should always come back to what is best for the overall good of the team and its objectives.

If your decision-making process is grounded in this philosophy, you will maintain the trust of your team members, even when a decision may negatively impact them.

Like parents who want the best for their children, successful leaders want what is best for the people they are leading. However, with their team members’ best interests at heart, there is a time to say “no” and there are times to hold team members accountable.

Leaders will always have their decisions questioned. That is part of the job. Effective leaders, however, never give people a reason to question their motives for making such decisions.

An Underdog's Margin of Error

“So, D.J., what’s your favorite lesson from the book?”

It’s a simple question I have been asked time and time again since The Xs & Os of Success: A Playbook for Leaders in Business and Life was released last November. The question is fair, but difficult. (I may be a little biased, but I tend to like all 40 of the lessons.) However, there are certain lessons which stand out to me for different reasons and at different times.

As I am preparing for a number of presentations over the next couple of months, there is one lesson seemingly taking center-stage during these tough economic times – Lesson #7, “An Underdog’s Margin of Error.”

Think any of these words below from the lesson describe us as a nation?

The most successful teams are the teams who have the top talent available, the confidence of a champion and the focus of an underdog.

For many reasons, however, these teams rarely exist.

It is obvious that not every team will have the top talent available — in fact, most teams will not. And, of course, without producing any results, having the confidence of a champion can be difficult.

However, there is one thing all teams should work to obtain — performing with the focus of an underdog. Unmatched focus can overcome many obstacles, including a lack of talent, and allow performance at the highest level possible.

The top leaders have a knack for keeping their teams hungry, keeping their teams focused on what needs to be done each and every day to achieve overall success. They focus on every possession, every detail and give nothing away.

When you are the underdog in sports or in business, there is no margin for error. To win, you must take advantage of every opportunity which presents itself to you. Without focus, this is not possible.

Eventually, however, this increased focus will help to produce results, which will lead to the opportunity for your team to have the confidence of a champion. And, finally, it will help lead your team to attracting the best talent available.

It is important at this point not to forget about where you and your team started — as the underdog. No matter what talent you have or what confidence you have, compete as though you are the underdog. Compete as though you have no margin for error. This type of focus is unmatched.

It’s fair to say we – as a nation – stopped embracing our role as the underdog. After all, being the favorite is so much easier on our egos.

Unfortunately, look where it took us.

The question that never gets answered

One of the most-intriguing happenings in sports this past week took place in the NBA’s Developmental League.

On Sunday – the day after the regular season ended – the top teams in the league actually got to select which opponents they wanted to play in the first round of the playoffs (an elimination game). The Colorado 14ers had the D-League’s best record so they picked their opponent from the bottom four playoff teams – Idaho, Erie, Dakota and Bakersfield. The second seeded Utah Flash was then allowed to choose its opponent.

The experimental new rule was used because rosters fluctuate so much in the D-League that those running the league feel teams’ win-loss records are not the best way to determine who should face off in the playoffs. Not sure if the rule is right or wrong, but it is certainly intriguing.

It does, however, remind me of one of the most useless questions asked to coaches and players in nearly every sport, almost every season. Here’s the scene:

Team A has already reached the playoffs or advanced in the playoffs and is awaiting the outcome of a game or series to see whether they will be playing Team B or Team C.

Broadcaster to Coach or Player on Team A: So do you have a preference of which team you would rather face – Team B or Team C?

Coach or Player on Team A: You know, we’re just happy to be here. Whether we play Team B or Team C, we just need to concentrate on what we do. They are both good teams and no matter who we play, it’s going to be a battle.

Sounds familiar, right? Unfortunately, it’s a waste of time – for the interviewer, the interviewee and the audience. The same question getting asked over and over with the same substance-lacking results. There is just no advantage for the coach or player to answer the question directly.

As humans, however, we are creatures of habit. In this instance, sports journalists – many of them qualified and capable – are so conditioned to the norms of the industry that they ask the question without even thinking twice about it. If they did give it some thought, they might put a different twist on it. They might ask the player or coach to match up Team B and Team C against one another or ask pointed questions about Team B and then Team C. Of course the coach or player will still be protective in his answers, but at least there is a chance for a bit of substance.

As children, we are told to think before we speak. But as adults, many of us seem to forget this simple rule. Actually, much of that has to do with the brilliance of the human mind. We become conditioned to shortcuts – relying on reacting without thinking because it saves us time and effort. Most of the time, we do this unconsciously.

Here’s a test. Over the next week, what do you find yourself conditioned to say?

- Do you find yourself wanting to speak in a meeting or conversation just because you feel you should say something – even though it won’t offer substance?

- Do you find yourself agreeing strongly with a statement even though you don’t actually feel that strongly about the subject or statement at all?

- Do you find yourself exaggerating the truth or gossiping about something you don’t know for a fact?

- Finally, do you find yourself saying “good bye,” “hello” or even “I love you” to a loved one without feeling it – or more importantly, showing him or her that you truly feel what you are saying?

These are all examples of us speaking before we think. As humans, we have become conditioned to do such. It is upon us to make a conscience decision to be different from the norm – to give those around us something better than the norm.

There is power in saying less. When you do, your words have more meaning. Think about it. No, seriously, think about it.