Hard Court Lesson #13

It's All In The Follow Through

Being an effective shooter is a combination of good form, proper balance and a refined shooting technique. A picture perfect jump shot is like poetry in motion however, it means nothing if you don't follow through.

Generally, following through is a good thing because what we're essentially doing is putting actions to our words. So instead of being one of those people who say, "Yeah, I thought of that great idea, you can say I did it and implemented this great idea.

That's what following through is all about.



See you on the court!

If I Had A Choice...

If I had a choice, I'd rather be communicated with as opposed to being talked to, with a heavy emphasis on the word "with".

Coach Kevin Sutton of Montverde Academy, a college preparatory school in Montverde Florida states in a recent blog post, "Talking vs Communicating", that it's a two way street.

By communicating with me, I'm allowed to be a part of the process as opposed to being told what to do.

The most successful coaches and leaders understand its importance and regularly incorporate effective communication strategies into their normal manner of operation.


In the case of Coach Sutton, he does a “CIRCLE OF COMMUNICATION” at the end of each practice.

This is where all of his players gather in circle and a topic is selected for them to communicate with each other about.

For example, he might have them pick a player to their right and tell them know what they did well in practice that day. The key is that they must say the teammates name.

According to Coach Sutton, this exercise has helped tremendously in the development of the players ability to:

1. Communicate & actively listen
   
2. To be secure vs. insecure in giving and receiving a compliment.
3. Help grow a teammates self-esteem.

Maintaining effective communication is the starting point for team success and in order to achieve this:

1. You must have a common language

2. A clear understanding of what is being communicated

3. Acknowledge that you understand what has been communicated to you. (Information given, received and understood).

So after all that.

What's your choice?

See you on the court!

Here's Why Everything Matters

It's really easy to take the small and seemingly insignificant things for granted and assume that they don't matter or won't have an impact on the bottom line.

This ultimately, isn't the case and often times, the smallest things can be the difference between winning and losing.


Author and speaker, Gary Ryan Blair joins me on the next episode of HCL Radio to discuss his Everything Counts philosophy which is also the name of his book and blog.
Gary teaches his audiences about the importance of paying attention to the fine details because they often times are the difference between success and failure or the difference between first place and second.

Click here to listen to Gary further explain the concept.

For more great insights be sure to check out the program or to stay regularly up to date with new episodes, click on the follow button on slightly above the show description!

See you on the court!

Productivity Lessons from a Web Designer

So I'm a pretty active guy when it comes to Twitter and the more I use it, the more I find it becomes my go to source for news, updates and general time wasting.

I happen to be following a web & graphic designer from Minneapolis, MN by the name of Mike Lane.

Now on the surface, you'd think that he and I don't have a whole lot in common and I wouldn't blame you for thinking that way.

Afterall, I'm a self professed hoops junkie that uses basketball to help people develop both personally and professionally and he talks about performance optimization, HTML and web design stuff.

What could we possible have in common??


Well, after reading his tweet that provided 10 tips on being more productive, I was quickly reminded of a Hard Court Leadership lesson.

No matter the situation, circumstance or players involved, there are a ton of valuable lessons we can learn to make us better leaders. It's up to us to use our court vision to spot them.

Here are the 10 tips that Mike shared via Clare Evans, author of Time Management for Dummies.

Thanks Mike!

1. Plan

If you want to make the biggest difference to your productivity, plan your time. You’ll ensure you’re focusing on the right things and using your time more effectively.

2. Systems and Priorities

When you’ve got to much to do, don’t expect to do it all. Make the best use of your time by focusing on what’s important.

3. Delegate

The busier you are the more you need to delegate. Spend your time on important tasks that no one else can do rather than day-to-day tasks.

4. Distractions and interruptions

We’d get more done if we didn’t keep getting distracted or interrupted. Whether it’s emails, phone calls or people stopping by our office without an appointment, interruptions are part of every working day.

5. Learn to say No!

Busy people often say yes to everything. Get back control of your time by saying ‘No’.
6. Manage your emails

Email can be one of the biggest distractions and drains on our time. Particularly if you find yourself constantly checking your inbox. Unless they’re a critical part of your work, they rarely need to be responded to immediately.

7. Setting Expectations

If you spend time working with other people, it’s important to set expectations. Let them know what it is you want and when. Don’t let other people’s actions create added effort and pressure for you.

8. Procrastination

Many people have a tendency to put things off. If the task is worth doing, don’t make it worse by leaving it. Do it sooner rather than late. Here are a few ways to deal with it:

9. Taking Breaks

Even if you’re busy, you need to take regular breaks. How often do you work through your lunch break or don’t take a break until it’s time to finish for the day?

10. Keep the balance

Working hard is all very well, but if you focus all your time and effort on work, other areas are likely to suffer.

See you on the court!

A Society of One

We all know how important it is for individuals to take responsibility for their actions, it's a core element of leadership and something everyone should be mindful of on a regular basis.

Ultimately, we're accountable to ourselves so it's important that we're 100% comfortable for the choices we make because at the end of the day, we'll have to live with ourselves and the pathways we selected.

We're the ones who'll have to evaluate whether or not the choices made are worthwhile and beneficial to us and not others. Think of yourself as our own little society where you are entirely accountable for all the decisions, it's a place where you get to make up all the rules.




It doesn't matter what other societies are doing or what rules they govern themselves with. All that matters are the decisions you make for yourself and whether or not you're comfortable with them.

Sunjay Nath joins me on the next edition of HCL Radio to explore this topic and many more. As an internationally recognized professional speaker and author, Sunjay has spread positive messages around self-esteem, leadership and goal setting to young people all over.


Sunjay chatted with me about the importance of perception.

Click here to listen to what Sunjay had to say.

For more great insights be sure to check out the program or to stay regularly up to date with new episodes, click on the follow button on slightly above the show description!

See you on the court!

Hard Court Lesson #12

Finding Your Sweet Spot

Shooters understand the importance of getting into a good rhythm and what it means to their shot. Finding that natural flow increases the chances of a better performance and increases the likelihood of success.

This is why it's critical that we find our Sweet Spot.



See you on the court!

Pulling Together

If we look deep enough, we can find life lessons just about everywhere.

For example, my friend John Murphy used the illustration of geese to teach some incredible lessons about how teams can become high performers through the power of pulling together.

Check it out this 3 minute video!

Pulling Together

See you on the court!