Bus Rides
Being on a bus for hours on end can be exhausting and even more so with 20 teenagers! The ride was long, but not overly stressful and extremely informative. I found myself sitting in the front with my mentor and the staff. Movies like Pistol Pete, 300, and others were shown to motivate, but also movies to bring a lighter mood and more comedy were shown as well.
I found the best part of this ride was the camaraderie that develops. With any industry it is important for there to be some empowerment within the staff, but more importantly some camaraderie and a feeling of vertical compression within the organization. That vertical compression offers confidence to all on staff and increases the emotional investment of subordinates. We drove straight from Ft. Wayne to a place in Ohio to change drivers then straight through the night to Atlanta, where we are now.
An interesting conversation broke out about LeBron James and the pressure he is under due to the media and I brought up the measurement of success and a performance evaluation. Thinking about LeBron James, before this most recent championship he lost 2 NBA Finals and won 1. Before Michael Jordan’s stellar 6-0 in championship series came along, Jerry West, the man dubbed Mr. Clutch and whose silhouette is the NBA Logo, was 1-8 in NBA finals series. With that said, Michael Jordan changed the measurement of success in the NBA. To be viewed as the best or to be viewed as “clutch” or a success, the media must adjust their performance evaluation of NBA players. W. Edward Deming once wrote that constant performance evaluation limits long-term growth and potential. He talked a lot about short sighted American business evaluating performance in quarters to honor investments, but that it crippled long-term business performance and can demoralize employees. In the same way that Deming believed, the constant evaluation by the media, which like it or not has an impact on perception of the athlete (employee), creates a high stress environment for the athlete and limits the long-term success.
Other than that long conversation, a lot of time was spent discussing the colleges we’ve been in contact with for each player and what the player needs to do to improve before their season starts. Much of “Money Month” is over at this point and July will start high school camps and the kids will now shift their focus to the TEAM, but their function within that team has undoubtedly been improved throughout the spring and early summer. We will arrive a little before the start of the Cam Newton Skills Challenge. We are not going to have any players participate because of the long drive, missing some players, and the grind that will be a two day tournament which we expect to play to the championship.
Being on a bus for hours on end can be exhausting and even more so with 20 teenagers! The ride was long, but not overly stressful and extremely informative. I found myself sitting in the front with my mentor and the staff. Movies like Pistol Pete, 300, and others were shown to motivate, but also movies to bring a lighter mood and more comedy were shown as well.
I found the best part of this ride was the camaraderie that develops. With any industry it is important for there to be some empowerment within the staff, but more importantly some camaraderie and a feeling of vertical compression within the organization. That vertical compression offers confidence to all on staff and increases the emotional investment of subordinates. We drove straight from Ft. Wayne to a place in Ohio to change drivers then straight through the night to Atlanta, where we are now.
An interesting conversation broke out about LeBron James and the pressure he is under due to the media and I brought up the measurement of success and a performance evaluation. Thinking about LeBron James, before this most recent championship he lost 2 NBA Finals and won 1. Before Michael Jordan’s stellar 6-0 in championship series came along, Jerry West, the man dubbed Mr. Clutch and whose silhouette is the NBA Logo, was 1-8 in NBA finals series. With that said, Michael Jordan changed the measurement of success in the NBA. To be viewed as the best or to be viewed as “clutch” or a success, the media must adjust their performance evaluation of NBA players. W. Edward Deming once wrote that constant performance evaluation limits long-term growth and potential. He talked a lot about short sighted American business evaluating performance in quarters to honor investments, but that it crippled long-term business performance and can demoralize employees. In the same way that Deming believed, the constant evaluation by the media, which like it or not has an impact on perception of the athlete (employee), creates a high stress environment for the athlete and limits the long-term success.
Other than that long conversation, a lot of time was spent discussing the colleges we’ve been in contact with for each player and what the player needs to do to improve before their season starts. Much of “Money Month” is over at this point and July will start high school camps and the kids will now shift their focus to the TEAM, but their function within that team has undoubtedly been improved throughout the spring and early summer. We will arrive a little before the start of the Cam Newton Skills Challenge. We are not going to have any players participate because of the long drive, missing some players, and the grind that will be a two day tournament which we expect to play to the championship.
