SCC Blog

Inspiration

Inspiration can come in many forms.  President Elect Barack Obama made that very evident with his decisive win on Election Day, urging Americans in his victory speech to adopt the mantra of “yes we can.”

Our mission at Sports Career Consulting is to provide resources and opportunities in and out of the classroom that provide education, guidance and inspiration as students try to find themselves and ideas for a career path.  Sometimes, along the way, I’ve found that I personally can be just as influenced and inspired as those who attend our events.  In fact, in just the past few weeks, I have been fortunate to hear two very prominent speakers that help illustrate that point.

Two weeks ago I had the unique opportunity to hear from Mike Krzyzewski, Head Coach of the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team.  He spoke for about thirty minutes or so, focusing on the accomplishments of the “Redeem Team” (USA men’s Olympic basketball team) and the factors that enabled them to recapture a gold medal in Beijing.  While Coach K had a number of humorous side stories that kept the small crowd entertained, the heart of the presentation was truly inspiring.

Here is Coach K, a coaching legend in his own right, talking about being humbled by the natural leadership, competitive energy and work ethic of some of the greatest athletes in the world.  He talked about togetherness and teamwork, focus and commitment and the ability of guys like LeBron, Kobe and D. Wade to transform from a group of outstanding individual talents into a true “team”, defined only by their collective core values and accomplishments as a group.  He told a story of how Carmelo Anthony, while the team was posing for a photo shoot with the Statue of Liberty in the background, reminded the team how big this stage was going to be and that they’d have to do it together.  For one summer, this particular group of incredibly talented, multi-millionaire, superstar athletes were able to put aside money, ego and fame to play for their country. 

There were a couple of stories stood out for me in particular as I listened to Coach K speak.  The first was about Kobe Bryant.  For those of you who are not basketball fans, Kobe has developed a reputation in some circles as being a selfish player, concerned more about his individual performance than winning as a team.  Coach K suggested that Kobe, with whom he’s had a relationship since he recruited him as a high schooler, pulled him aside before the Olympics began and asked for a favor.  That favor, he asked Coach K, was to let him guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player each and every game when the team got to Beijing for the Summer Games.  His personal goal was not to lead the team in scoring but to lead the team on defense, an unselfish means for helping the TEAM accomplish its goal of winning the gold medal.  Kobe assured Coach K he’d “destroy” his opponents on defense.  In fact, in the team’s first practice, Kobe apparently didn’t attempt a single shot.  After practice, Coach K called Kobe over for a conversation that went something like this (according to Krzyzewski):

Coach K: “Kobe, didn’t you score 50 points in three straight games or something last year?” 
Kobe:  “Something like that.”
Coach K: “Well, it would be okay if you want to destroy them on offense too you know.”

Clearly Kobe was trying to send a message to his teammates.  He would still be a leader, but his intention was to lead the team to victory, not necessarily on the stats sheet.  If you watched the Olympics, you probably heard Kobe’s teammates gush about the leadership characteristics of Kobe and how he often led by example.  That first practice set the tone for the rest of the Olympics and the message was clear:  If everyone put the team first, played hard and played inspired like Kobe Bryant, Team USA would not fall short in their mission to bring home the gold.

The other story I heard that really underscored the emphasis on teamwork relates to the team’s “theme” song throughout the Olympics.  Many of you have seen the Nike commercial featuring Marvin Gaye’s rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” set to footage of Team USA practicing (if not, click here to see it).  The analogy given by Coach K was that most college teams have a “fight song”.  Coach K suggested the team adopt the Star Spangled Banner as their own fight song as a means for providing even more inspiration to recognize what was at stake throughout the Olympics. 

The second moment of inspiration I had in the last few weeks came at an event we put on at Nike’s World Headquarters with the Jordan Brand.  We hosted over 425 high school business and marketing students on campus who had the unique opportunity to hear from a number of Jordan Brand employees, including Howard “H” White (Vice President) and Keith Houlemard (President). 

Keith’s story is inspirational in its own right as he shared with our group the story of how he worked his way up from a Nike intern to becoming the guy hand-picked by Michael Jordan to become the leader and president of the Jordan Brand.  Keith’s accomplishments show the impact determination and commitment can have on someone’s career, assuming they have the drive, ambition and desire to excel and succeed and a willingness to pay their dues and put in the time.

Howard took the stage to close the presentation.  Now, keep in mind that Howard (”H” as he likes to be called) is a legend in sports marketing circles.  He’s been a part of Nike for many years and remains very close with Nike’s founder Phil Knight to this day.  He is also very close with Michael Jordan and has been by MJ’s side throughout his career and names guys like Charles Barkley and Lance Armstrong as close personal friends.  Needless to say, he has an uncanny ability to hold the attention of the room with a knack for weaving entertaining stories with inspirational pearls of wisdom, somehow managing to connect on a personal level with each and every person in the auditorium that day. 

I received a literal outpouring of overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and teachers alike, all suggesting that Howard inspired them that day.  I count myself as part of that group.  Howard spoke of passion and the power of positive thinking.  He talked about setting goals and sticking to the path that would lead to achieving those goals.  He preached a consistent message of doing the right things and being a good person.

Then “H” shared a few stories that I think will resonate with our core group of blog readers.  Specifically, he talked about two people who had significant influence on how he would develop as a person and a professional early in his lifetime and his career.  Both individuals were teachers.  The point he really wanted to emphasize was that his teachers saw something in him before he saw anything in himself.

As teachers, you are all in the unique and powerful position to inspire.  “H” implored each and every student in the audience to listen to their teachers, suggesting they too can see things that many students may not yet see in themselves.  He also urged teachers to consider the message.  Even if students aren’t always ready to listen, you never know which of them will heed your advice, encouragement and support at some point in their lifetime.  You never know…you might have the next Howard or Keith or even Phil Knight right there in your classroom!

*** Editor’s Note ***

Howard “H” White published a book (which I believe was recently re-released) entitled Believe to Achieve: See the Invisible, Do the Impossible.  The book contains many of the stories “H” shared with our group at the event and many more.  The book is an excellent, quick and easy read that I’d recommend to anyone.  It is available at amazon.com for about $15 (click here to view book details or to order from amazon.com). 

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