What businesspeople can learn from the NBA finals.

 Teamwork is key. 

                             

I, for one, am not a Dallas Mavericks fan.  In fact in this year’s final series, I was cheering for the Heat.  However, I can appreciate a team who individually and collectively plays with excellence.  The Mavericks have a set of skills, attitudes, talents and working styles that forge a winning combination. 

Work Together.

LeBron James often talked about sharing the ball.  He clearly understood the importance of playing together and utilizing the strengths of others.  But, ultimately, it was difficult for him to practice it, when it was time to do so.  The statistics don’t lie. Mavericks are #2 in the league in assists.  The Heat is close to the bottom.   Mavericks know how to executive collectively.  Synergy = Success. 

Know your role.

The Mavericks also know how to execute individually. Each team member knows his personal strengths and seems to have a clear understanding of his role on the team.  Each player knows what is expected of him.    You can not deliver on expectations if you don’t have a clear vision of what they are.

Practice the winning combination.

The Mavs obviously had the ultimate goal in mind.  Win the franchise’s first championship.  In order to get there, they had to achieve the smaller objectives that make the ultimate goal possible.  They practice that winning combination repeatedly.   Drive.  Pass.  Assist.  Shoot.  Recover.  Block.  It becomes a rhythmic chorus that the team has masters through practice.  Begin with the end in mind.  Set a plan for how you will get there. 

Finally, the six-game series re-affirms an adage I learned years ago.  Together we can do much more than the sum of what we can do separately.  Here’s what that means in a business setting.  Say Jane, Tom, and Megan are tasked with building widgets.  In an hour, each person can build 10 widgets respectively.  That’s 30 widgets total.   However, if Jane, Tom, and Megan work together, each taking on a role in the widget building process, they get more done.  Jane sorts, Tom assembles, Megan packages - they now can build 50 widgets in an hour.  Their collective total is greater than the sum of their individual totals. 

Work Together.  Know Your Role.  Practice the Winning Combination.