I learned early on that it feels good to win.  But one of the secrets of how to win consistently came to me later.  That’s when I really understood how much easier it is to win as a team than to win as a group of individuals.  Cliché?  Maybe.  But it’s sometimes hard to see this - and believe this - in the heat of battle. 

Think about it.  Doesn’t this idea go against another time-honored cliché that great athletes step up and want the ball when the game is on the line?  Didn’t Michael Jordan win all those championships by taking control at crunch time?   Well actually that wasn’t the key.  Michael Jordan – the greatest basketball player of all time - didn’t win it all until he learned how to keep his entire team in the game.  Michael struggled and his teams didn’t make it to the top until Phil Jackson taught him that his job was to make his teammates better.  After that Michael went on to win six world championships.

The bottom line here is that great athletes take control and score when they have to, but throwing an extra pass to a teammate and setting up a goal does even more.  It keeps everyone on the field alert, keeps them in the game and keeps them motivated.   

My business has thrived for many reasons and I am very fortunate.  But I am convinced that a key ingredient to this is our attitude that you get more millage out of setting up successes for business associates than trying to take over and score each goal yourself.

So for my money, when we pour over the stat sheets, let’s pay special attention to guys who lead their teams in assists.

JCM