It's Time For A Change

We're all subject to change in our lives at one point or another and we don't have to be leaders to experience it.

The next edition of HCL Radio is dedicated to looking at this thing called change and understand the role of a leader during the change management process.

I've called on the services of my good friend Bill Kane to help us make sense of it all.



Bill is a business change expert, leadership consultant and is the co-creator of Coach John Wooden's Leadership Program.

He delivers management training seminars for corporate clients, civic groups, schools, and individuals seeking to lead their teams toward optimized and sustained performance.

His book, "The Truth About Thriving in Change" provides some great insights and practical ideas for how we all can work through the change process.

Join the next episode of HCL Radio and hear how these tips can be used to help us in our personal and professional lives.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

~Charles Darwin~

Note: Free show reminders are available by visiting the show page and clicking on the "Remind Me" button.

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Audley
Where developing leaders is more than just a game.

A True Twitter Pioneer

The opening passage of "Resonant Leadership" by Richard Boyatzis says:



"For those bold enough to lead in this age of uncertainty, the challenges are immense indeed. Our world is a new world, and it requires a new kind of leadership."

I think Boyatzis hit the nail on the head when he talked about our world being new and the type of leadership it would require.

It's my belief that the rapid movement of social media will call for greater creativity, improved leadership and an increased number individuals who'll commit to consistently put ideas into practice.

To move forward, our society will need bold, progressive and innovative pioneers.

A recent announcement by St. John's University is the first step towards what I believe to be a movement like we've never seen before.

The St. John's Athletic program has made Peter Robert Casey the first ever credentialed Twitter micro-blogger.



This means that Casey will take his Twitter followers with him behind the scenes of the St. John's Red Storm basketball team during press conferences, the locker room and live from press row in Madison Square Garden.

With over 50,000 followers, he already has the attention of the basketball community and now they'll have the inside scoop into a place that true basketball fans only dreamed of.

While Casey's humility will prevent him from calling himself a pioneer, that's exactly what he is.

As a leader, trailblazer and forerunner, Peter is making a way for others to follow and he's doing it all in 140 characters.

There will be others who'll take similar pathways as the benefits of using one of the hottest platforms today becomes more apparent.

However, they'd hard pressed to say that they weren't inspired by the guy with the three first names.

Peter Robert Casey

For the full story, please read the press release.

Thanks for reading!

Audley
Where developing leaders is more than just a game.

Focus on the Present

The 2008 NBA Finals saw the re-birth of a long time rivalry between the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers.

It was an epic battle that saw the Celtics take an early 3 -1 lead in the best of 7 series.

During a media scrum just before game 5, LA Laker superstar, Kobe Bryant was fielding a series of questions.



One reporter asked whether or not he had plans of re-signing a new contract with the team at the conclusion of the season.

He looked at the reporter and said, "If I choose to answer that question, then I'm acknowledging that the season is over."

It's real easy to get caught up looking ahead at the road of doom and gloom as opposed to maintaining our focus on the present.

We seem to fall into this trap especially when things look bleak and abysmal with no end in sight.



In the case of Kobe and the Lakers, the chips were stacked against them:

•they were facing a Celtic team that had the best regular season record in the NBA;
•LA's star centre, Andrew Bynum was out with an injury; and
•the Celtics featured three great players in Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

So in some ways, you can see why reporters thought the season was over.

Does this change Kobe's approach to the game?

No.

You still play with purpose and have a clear focus on the present situation as opposed to looking ahead to what you think may happen.



Be in the present and don't worry about what happened yesterday or what you think might happen tomorrow.

Here are 3 things leaders can keep in mind as they are faced with the challenges of life.

Accept the past,focus on the present and not stress about the future.

It should be noted that the Lakers won the fifth game but eventually lost the Finals in game 6 to the Celtics.

In fact, the 39-point margin of victory was the largest ever in an NBA championship-clinching game.

(So it looks like the reporters were right, oh well)

Thanks for reading!

Audley
Where developing leaders is more than just a game.

The Great Ones

For some, being great comes easier than others. On the next episode of Hard Court Lessons Radio, you'll hear from a gentleman who's hung out with some of the greatest athletes, coaches and leaders of our modern era.



Don Yaeger is an award winning journalist, New York Times best selling author and motivational speaker who's had the pleasure of working with the likes of Micheal Jordan, Tiger Woods and the late great, Walter Payton to name a few.

Don has taken lessons learned from these individuals and shares how we can achieve greatness and be the best we possibly can be.

Don said, "Greatness is an approach to living, it's the desire to be better than you were the day before."

Have a look at MY FRIEND, Don Yaeger's pre-speech introduction.



Don joins the next episode of Hard Court Lessons Radio to provide suggestions on how we can translate the greatness that exists in sports into everyday life.

Click here to learn more about Don or subscribe to his monthly Moments of Greatness Newsletter.

Note: Free show reminders are available by visiting the show page and clicking on the "Remind Me" button.


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Audley
Where developing leaders is more than just a game.

The 50th Law

Not only is Robert Greene an international best selling author but he's also a huge basketball fan and long time supporter of the LA Lakers.

He's widely known for his ground breaking book, The 48 Laws of Power.

It distilled three thousand years of the history of power in to forty-eight well explicated laws. This fascinated many readers especially those who were interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

Greene has now collaborated with rap superstar 50 Cent to deliver “The 50th Law” The book was inspired by 50's experiences and the essential message is built on the foundation of being fearless.



"Overcoming our fear is not easy . . . it requires working against the grain of our nature." - 50 Cent & Robert Greene

Robert joins the next episode of Hard Court Lessons Radio to talk about the book, how leadership relates to basketball and why individuals need to understand how power and fear fit into leadership.

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Note: Free show reminders are available by visiting the show page and clicking on the "Remind Me" button.

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Audley
Hard Court Lessons - Where developing leaders is more than just a game.

Here's How You Could Win!

Best selling author and motivational speaker Charles Garcia was a recent guest on Hard Court Lessons and discussed his latest book, "Leadership Lessons of The White House Fellows".





This fascinating book takes you behind the scenes of every presidential administration from Lyndon B Johnson to George W Bush.

Charles Garcia left three copies of his book behind and wants me to make three people automatic winners.

To win, all you need to do is be one of the first three people to answer this question:

During my interview with Charles, he shared a story about a telephone conversation that took place between Doris Kearns Goodwin and President Lyndon Johnson.

What significant event took place two days after that phone call?

The first three people that can e-mail the correct answer to audley@hardcourtlessons.com will win.

It's that easy.

Click here to listen!

Thanks for reading!

Audley
Where developing leaders is more than just a game.

Straight from the White House

Former US President, John F. Kennedy once said, "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."

The legendary White House has stood as symbol of the President and the United States since 1792.

It's also has served as the training ground for over 200 participants of the White House Fellows program.

The White House Fellows Program was founded in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a way to provide gifted and highly motivated young Americans with some first-hand experience.

Motivational speaker, best-selling author and past participant of the White House Fellows program, Charles P. Garcia visits Hard Court Lessons Radio to talk about his experience in the program as well his new book entitled "Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows".

Charles distills leadership lessons from generations of inspiring individuals and talks about his book as well a sharing what its was like to work in the Oval Office with some of the most influential White House leaders in the US.

But wait there's more!

Tune in to Hard Court Lessons Radio and you'll also find out how you could win your very own copy of "Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows" compliments of Charles himself.

Click here to listen to the episode!

Note: Free show reminders are available by visiting the show page and clicking on the "Remind Me" button.

Thanks for reading!

Audley
Where developing leaders is more than just a game.

The Difference Makers

There's a misguided belief that says that your team will be successful as long as you have the best players in the world on your squad.

I've always believed this notion to be false and an article in a recent issue of the New Yorker further strengthened my resolve.

It's called David vs. Goliath - When Underdogs Break the Rules and was written by Malcolm Gladwell, author of many best selling books such as Blink, Tipping Point and Outliers.

It chronicled a story reminiscent of the biblical David and Goliath tale in which a father decides to coach his daughter's under skilled Little League basketball team.

Despite not having the talent and skill level of the other teams, Vivek Ranadivé guides his squad all the way to the national championships where they unfortunately, are beaten.

(This story may have Goilath as the victor but not without a serious scare.)

I suppose one could argue and say the lack of skill was the difference between them winning and losing. However, the reality is that this under skilled team made it to the finals when on paper, they weren't supposed to.

This proves that as important as skill is to being a successful team, it's not enough.

While there are several factors that come into play, I'll give four of the top difference makers:

Game Plan

Having a good coach with a sound philosophy is huge and I think this story illustrated quite nicely its importance.

Ranadivé knew that his team didn't stand a chance if they played the conventional way due to the disparity in skill level. So he adopted a defensive style of play that pressured the offensive team the entire length of the court. It produced turnovers and didn't allow the offence time to execute their diagrammed plays.

Execution

You'll sometimes see a time out called in the closing seconds of a big game. The coach gets the team together to design a play to score the game winning basket. They come out of the huddle, everyone gets into position and something unplanned happens. Maybe somebody drops a pass, misses their assignment or inadvertently steps out of bounds. A loss follows and the game is over.

The process where strategy becomes a reality is execution. A coach can design, draw and strategize all the plays but it ultimately falls on the shoulders of the team to make it happen.

A leader's job is to support and equip their followers with the necessary tools and resources to get the job done and put themselves in a position to be successful when the rubber hits the road.

Intelligence

Intelligence on the court is critical. As a youth basketball coach, I've seen too many examples where players are taught to run a specific play but don't fully understand the reasoning behind what they're doing. So if the plays says to set a screen, that's what I'll do regardless if my defender has left me unguarded for an open shot.

Leaders empower their people to make better decisions and help them understand the reasoning behind the action. Knowing the reasoning helps make better decisions, so if something breaks during the course of the game, the players can choose an alternate pathway that makes sense.

Micheal Jordan, six time NBA champ once said, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."

Chemistry

Jordan's quote touches on the final point which is chemistry. This is the thing that brings it all together. For a sports team to exist, you need a group of talented athletes, who work together to achieve a common goal. What makes this so dynamic is that each member of the team has an opportunity to contribute their own unique skills.

Their ability to co-exist in unison is one of the main differences between winning and losing.

In closing...

While skill is an important thing to have, it's not the only thing. To be that conquering David, teams need to be smart, be able to work together and have a solid game plan going in.


Keeping these difference makers in mind will do a lot to strengthen your team, improve your leadership skills and influence your wins and losses.




Thanks for reading!

Audley
Hard Court Lessons - Where developing leaders is more than just a game.