By | Pat Sullivan | addicted2success.com
When Jerry Krause was General Manager of the Chicago Bulls, he once said to Michael Jordan the oft quoted expression, “There is no I in TEAM.” Jordan retorted by saying, “But there is an I in WIN.”
What does it take to win? I believe there are five components that must be present to win in athletics. I believe these five ingredients are present in winning in all areas of life. They are especially important to the success of leaders in any endeavor undertaken.
1. Talent
I coached basketball for 44 years – 10 at the high school level and 34 at the collegiate level. There is no question in my mind that you need talented players to win.
Coaches who think their teams win because they are geniuses are dead wrong. In fact, they are certifiably crazy! A coach can take mediocre players and make them competitive, and many coaches do just that, but winning championships takes a higher level of players.
There is one disclaimer about talented players. Talent alone will not win championships. It’s only talented players who are willing to play together that win at the highest level.
When I was coaching at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, we had three outstanding players who came to us at approximately the same time – Billy Meyers, Paul Stachowicz, and Dave Wilhelmi. All three of them were terrific players and could have played at a level higher than ours. We also had talented players who complemented them.
In an instant, I became an okay coach! It’s funny how that works! I believe we won 19 of our last 21 games, beat a Division I team at their place, were runners-up at the National Catholic Basketball Tournament, beat two teams that won about 25 games each in the first two playoff games, and ended the season one game away from the NAIA National Tournament.
Could we have won at that level without our three arrivals? NO!
