PARTING WORDS

What Is March Madness?

Answer: Is it where all LP associates are evaluated on last year’s personal performance and held accountable for shrinkage? Or is it where some are just evaluated on their performance and not held accountable for shrinkage?

It’s a trick question. The real answer is, it is the NCAA basketball tournament where people like me fill out our “brackets” picking enough winners to perhaps win a pool of money. Right on, basketball fans!

I am a basketball fan, born and raised in Indiana where basketball is a way of life for six months out of the year. I will be at the NCAA tournament rounds 2 and 3 this year in two different sites. The games will be great, the players fun to watch, and the coaches…ah, the coaches. I think watching the coaches is like watching a leadership seminar. Whether you are a fan of basketball or not, you can learn from some of the great coaches’ leadership principles. Let’s look at two and some of the building block statements that they lived and coached by.

John Wooden

The first is the legendary John Wooden, a man who coached ten championship teams at UCLA and was perhaps viewed as much for his leadership qualities as his trophies. Here are a few Woodenisms: ■ Don’t mistake activity with achievement. ■ The people who turn out best are those people who make the best out of the way things turn out. ■ Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. ■ The true test of a person’s character is what they do when no one is watching. ■ If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over? ■ Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them. ■ You can’t live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you. ■ It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no cares who gets the credit. ■ Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. ■ Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life. ■ It is what you learn after you know it all that counts.

Jim Valvano

The second coach is Jim Valvano, a man who won a championship at North Carolina State when no one thought they could and later died way too early from cancer. In his memory the Valvano Foundation has become one of the greatest contributors to cancer research. Perhaps you have heard his final speech given just days before his death:

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in

Jim Lee, LPC Executive Editor

thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

Valvano was also often quoted saying the following: ■ How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. ■ I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust ‘em. ■ The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse that it is, and the future less resolved than it will be. ■ Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath. ■ I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Regionals

Those are some pretty impressive thoughts from two legends of leadership, but I am not done with leadership and life statements. A couple of years ago some very bright regional LP managers wrote for the magazine. Here is some of what they said: ■ You must carry out your duties with honesty, integrity, fairness, ethics, and professionalism. ■ You must be willing to surround yourself with talented people and challenge them to get better. ■ You must create an environment where everyone’s thoughts and ideas are respected. ■ I learned by watching, listening, and taking notes of others doing their work. ■ There is significant value in learning the business from an operational standpoint. ■ It is important to be a part of an organization with integrity, vision, and upward mobility. ■ More important than money is enjoying the job and quality of life. ■ The company is important, but more so the person you work for. ■ My career has historically edged out over my personal life. As I have gotten a better comfort level with my position, I have achieved more home balance. ■ I am fortunate to have a very supportive spouse who understands my career is important to us. ■ I consider LP the greatest job ever.

Pretty powerful statements by two great coach’s and some astute regional types. And it is all under the banner of March Madness—what a great country.