Sometimes I feel like we pull for teams that we can relate to. I have always felt like basketball strategy and business approach go hand in hand. The team you are pulling for in the 2014 Final Four has everything to do with your current approach to business. Here is what your team says about you:
Kentucky
These flashy young guns have 2 simple goals – Win a national championship and go to the NBA (ASAP). That is a fair statement, they produce unbelievable young talent and many go next level. They have the first who, then what mentality. Exciting to watch and multiple offensive threats; this team shows up to play. Watching Cauley-Stein go out with an injury has only opened up the other threats. Kentucky hasn’t really built its team around 1 player or position and that keeps the train on the tracks, as others step up.
So yeah, you are a businessman who styles “lights out,” your team does too, you enjoy crushing the competition and having the “best” every single time you hit the floor. You enjoy the game and you probably enjoy the hot new trend, company, or market, as you aggressively seek opportunity. Your value probably relies more on the best price, coverage, or service….not the relationship as you are moving onto the next level.
Wisconsin
The fundamental strategist, a real team of discipline with an unassuming way of playing the game and surprising the competition with their 20 mile march. These guys really are a team, they believe in each other’s strengths and recognize their weaknesses. They aren’t the most flashy, they haven’t been here before, but they are smart, work hard, and they are proving to the world that they are a force to be reckoned with.
You are a business person who has nothing to lose and you play the game the way you want to play it. Recognizing that to build something great takes patience, persistence, discipline, planning, and the right people. You take your time and create a movement accepting the dark horse state of mind. You are quiet, a methodical titan, crafty and in search of something bigger than yourself…a team.
Florida
If you are pulling for the Gators you are the type of businessman that values service, heart, and hustle. You also are a fan of living in the moment and getting the job done. Florida is a defensive powerhouse, they are physical and cause turnovers. My high school basketball coach, Mike Edwards always said “The Team with 20 or less turnovers wins the game.”
You believe the team with the least amount of mistakes wins, and you are always disciplined and working to cause a turnover so you can execute on the other end. Missteps with service bothers you, but laziness and lack of care are reasons to leave immediately. Your business style cares deep down about your clients, your employees, and your mission. You are willing to grind it out to get the full experience. Like this quote by Danny Meyer – “Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those simple prepositions – for and to – express it all.”
You are in search of the perfect game built on heart, hustle, and service.
UConn
The Team with mentors, leadership, experience, and overcoming adversity is always a contender in the tournament and UConn is that team. With Kevin Ollie following the footsteps of Jim Calhoun (Ollie’s Coach at UConn), it is important to note that the apprentice has learned how to manage a game and support a superstar, while recreating a team that may win it all. Of course Napier is just an amazing talent with 10,000 hours of instinct, but the brand of UConn has been reestablished under Ollie’s leadership…and he sports slim suits….which is an added cool bonus.
If you favor UConn you are a re-inventor of ideas and ideals, you manage situations by looking at what could be not what is, you have been given an opportunity to lead because every opportunity is a learning experience to get better (The Louisville Beat Down). You manage superstars by putting them into positions that your mentor put you in, so your future derives from your past.
Either one of these teams and styles represents a success story. I wish you all the best of luck as your team takes the court and your story unfolds
Slay Dragons!
Photo: Stuart Seeger