The primary point of the article was a focus on his lineup decisions. Specifically the decision to move all-star and all-defensive veteran Andre Iguodala to the bench at the start of the season and then to scrap the lineup that had gotten Golden State to the championship round in favor of a smaller lineup.
The primary reason given for the last minute change was a suggestion by their video manager, a 28 year old that had been studying film. According to the article,
"So Kerr decided to wipe the blackboard clean, taking All-Defensive Second Team, rim-protecting center Andrew Bogut out of the rotation altogether, and going to an uber-small-ball unit anchored by the 6-6 undersized power forward Draymond Green. He also resuscitated David Lee, like Iguodala, another mothballed, highly paid former All-Star before Game 3, a ploy that kickstarted Steph Curry’s game in the midst of what ended up being a failed comeback effort.
Considering the stakes, this was a downright radical move on Kerr’s part, and one that easily could have blown up in his face."As the article points out, it is unique that an NBA coach (or any business executive) would listen to an entry-level employee over the high paid executives and assistants.
"Outside of Gregg Popovich’s Spurs, this just doesn’t happen. Video assistants don’t get to pitch the man in charge, let alone get the credit, and the vast majority of head coaches are far too small-c conservative and risk-averse to even contemplate such a move, let alone admit that he lied about it."But that single decision isn't the thing that ultimately made Steve Kerr a great leader, a championship leader. Rather it was the culture and the tone that he set before the season even began. He created a culture that made it not only OK to accept a lesser role for the good of the team, but even encouraged it.
Kerr demanded that they have fun. That in and of itself is revolutionary. More to the point, he was willing to speak to his players not like soldiers or faceless office drones, but like... well, people that he trusted and legitimately liked. That’s why Iguodala bought in early on, and Andrew Bogut and David Lee did the same.
2. I was able to recently read an excerpt from a new book about Blackberry entitled "Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of Blackberry."
The book looks to be an extraordinary read about the fall of a high-tech highflier and the individual decisions that led them to a struggle for survival.
The excerpt focused on the role that the Apple iPhone had on the precipitous decline in Blackberry's fortunes. More specifically, the executives at Blackberry's insistence on keeping the keypad and not adjusting to consumer tastes when Apple innovated well beyond what Blackberry was capable of.
This is a consistent theme for Corporate Bravery and how to respond to the competition when they take the lead. The following quotes highlight some of the issues companies can encounter when faced with a competitive threat.
"But there was no going back. Apple was setting a new agenda for the wireless industry. RIM, like others, were now followers."
"Now RIM was forced to play catch up. Unlike RIM, Apple had an army of outside developers who had already built consumer apps for its computers and iPods and were primed to do the same for the iPhone. By the time Blackberry launched its app store in spring 2009, iPhone customers had already downloaded 1 billion apps."
3. Lastly, there was a great article in First Round, a resource for start-ups about how Soundcloud has focused on keeping good communication despite rapid growth and multiple offices in multiple time zones.
The article has a primary focus on All Hands Meetings or Town Hall Meetings and how to keep them relevant and an open dialog between management and employees. Among the thoughts and ideas....
Two days before, they convene the speakers for a test run to make sure they've done their homework and that their content will be valuable. “It’s an opportunity to make sure we have a cohesive narrative, and also give feedback on the content, style, format and overall delivery.” Little things get tweaked because every detail matters to the credibility, caliber and polish of the event. Maybe one person is running over time on his part of the presentation, while another presenter could use design help on a few slides. All of these changes are important because they add up to every employee feeling great about working at SoundCloud and doing their best work.
Attendees can ask questions in person, but there are also moderators who surface questions that come in via the company’s intranet or chat or Slack. This allows people in other offices to participate in a seamless way, and caters to people with differing communication styles.
In general, SoundCloud employees (especially senior managers) are highly encouraged to travel to the other offices to promote face-to-face communication, context-setting and to help more people connect the dots across the company. In fact, the company offers a Global Exchange Program where employees can apply to work in another office for a quarter if it will add value to their development or output. It's turned into an incredibly popular program that employees cite as a key perk.
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