Photo: David J. Phillip, AP
Sunday night the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Championship for the fifth time.
They had lost last year to the Miami Heat in the finals. They were determined to come back from that devastating defeat and leave this year’s match-up victorious.
Listening to the players and owner, I was inspired by five factors that helped to create this successful outcome. They can be applied to any organization.
- Resilience Being able to bounce back, let go of the past and focus on the future. Tim Duncan, a Spurs 17 year veteran, said that last year’s loss made the team stronger and they would not let this opportunity get away.
- Teamwork This team is focused and functioned as a unified system. While they supported each player, the emphasis was on the whole team, not individuals.
- Great coaching The coach inspired the team and provided a strategy to get the desired outcome of a championship. The players and coach were clearly committed to each other.
- Ability to stay fresh and change Coach Popovich who coached the team for over 17 years stayed current and changed with the times. He kept the players and their approaches fresh.
- Humility The entire team has a reputation of humility. The coach is so humble that he did not want to be on stage at the award ceremony and was shy about being acknowledged.
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, says that good-to-great leaders never want to become larger-than-life heroes or be put on a pedestal. They are seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extra-ordinary results.
The Spurs celebrated a fantastic accomplishment. Incorporating these five factors into your game plan will generate winning results.