SB Nation User Blog: Norsktroll

Good to Great and Built to Last?

Norsktroll — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:32:14 -0000

Do you think Paul Allen is a fan of business bestsellers? Larry Miller from his time at Nike? Kevin Pritchard?

Whoever it might be, I see quite a number of similarities between the approach of the Blazers organization to prepare for a rise to the top and a stay there, and what the author Jim Collins recommends in his two popular books "Built to Last - Successful Habits of Visionary Companies" (1994), written together with Stanford professor Jerry Porras and helped by a number of student researchers, and "Good to Great - Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" (2001), written after a consultant told a stunned Collins his first book was pretty much useless for companies that were not always already leaders in their field.

Without recapping all details, here are some key findings from the books (some established in Built to Last, then expanded upon in Good To Great to the 7 principles below). Some similarities to the Blazers? I would say so.

1. "Level 5 Leadership": Leaders who are humble, but driven to do what's best for the company.

"A paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will."

Even people not appreciating all traits of KP & Co. would have to admit that is pretty accurate. And doesn't that sound exactly like BRoy?

2. "First Who, Then What": Get the right people on the bus first, get them in the right seats, then figure out where to go/what to do.

Yup. That building strategy seems to be in effect both regarding the on-court product as well as the organization itself.

3. "Confront the Brutal Facts": Honestly assess the situation for what it is, yet at the same time never give up hope.

A business/leadership concept known as the "Stockdale Paradox" after a long-term prisoner of war in Vietnam. When asked who didn't make it out of prison camp, Stockdale replied:

"Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart."

"This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Maybe an area where the Blazers are currently still lacking a bit, although you could use examples like the Zach Randolph trade to argue they can "face the facts" of an unpleasant situation.

4. "The Hedgehog Concept"

Three overlapping circles: (1) What makes you money? (2) What could you be best in the world at? (3) What lights your fire?

Highly important from a business perspective, forcing a company to focus its resources on what it does best and not on everything it could do somewhat good. Very effectively e.g. employed by GE which gets out of markets it can't get a top position in, and by companies like the case study example Kimberly-Clark that completely changed the purpose/focus of their business over the years as a result of such an analysis. Same e.g. with Nokia, who started out as a very unfocused manufacturer of paper, tires, rubber boots and computer monitors. Yup, that cellphone company.

For the Blazers as a team maybe not that applicable. The mission is clear, and they can't completely change the "on court product" to make the team play table tennis or soccer because a player would also be good at this. From an organizational standpoint, a concept that could e.g. help them to define how to best improve the experience and value for their fans and sponsors, and focus their resources effectively.

5. "Culture of Discipline"

If you look at the coaches, the meticulous scouting, the kind of players the Blazers bring in, I would say from a distance it is accurate they do try to create such a culture.

6. "Technology Accelerators": Using technology to accelerate growth (within the hedgehog concept)

Another thing the Blazers definitely do. From advanced proprietary stats, to videotaping even practices, to the team plane, to employing a sleep consultant.

7. "The Flywheel": Keeping the process of 1-6 going, especially through the additive effect of many small initiatives.

Organization/Community: Events, effective PR, podcasts and radio and TV, acquiring likable players (see "right people on the bus"), being open to the media and the fans, etc.

Team: That remains a bit to be seen, if the Blazers are able to fill the roster with players who do all the little things well and fulfill their role however small it may be, and replenish it if they lose people.

Your thoughts? Are the Blazers on a "Good to Great" path of development to become a team that can reach the top and stay there? Does such a concept even apply to a fast-paced environment like sports with many unpredictable factors and success having to be regained every season at least regarding the team on the floor?

- - -

Short note on the research how these concepts were developed: The authors did a kind of backwards analysis, figuring out which companies fulfilled their definition of success over long timeframes as opposed to a comparable company that went on the wrong path at some inflection point, and then looked for what all those successful companies have in common. Thus the discovered principles are rather a correlation, not necessarily the causation. Also some of the identified companies must have diverged from their path of success recently (e.g. the authors picked Merck over Pfizer in their first book, and Good to Great features now all but bankrupt companies Fannie Mae and Circuit City as two examples). A common critique to the organizational principles outlined in Collins' research is that he overstates the importance of leadership in running a successful organization, although he explicitly states many companies he found to be successful are not run by charismatic wheeling and dealing leaders often depicted in the press and are rather "boring" businesses that just have very good day to day operations.

Greg prefers Candyce over Conley

Norsktroll — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:31:35 -0000

Greg prefers Candyce over Conley

Say hello to Greg's new (?) girlfriend. Don't know how "Blaze of Love" - how fitting - got in possession of Greg's holiday photo album from Hawaii, but it's nice to see he apparently has found someone he likes outside of the basketball court.

Via Twitter :)

Mike Bibby agrees to multi-year deal with Hawks

Norsktroll — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:45:54 -0000

Mike Bibby agrees to multi-year deal with Hawks

Reportedly a three-year deal worth a total of $18 million to return to the Hawks. Another free agent off the market. Not that I wanted the Blazers to acquire him.

Junk Drawer July 6th - One hit wonders

Norsktroll — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:12:54 -0000

Since there is no junk drawer so far I though I would make one. No, I don't mean teams that only win one title in the NBA and then disintegrate although that's also a nice discussion. I was just going through some lists to look for artists that only had one major (international) hit. Some might have been successful in their home country or as a touring artist later, but never achieved that level of attention on TV and the radio again. At least so far, since some people labeled one hit wonders are still young enough to produce many songs and records in the future.

Some I could come up with in no particular order:

Los del Rio - Macarena (hey, Macarena)
Baha Men - Who let the dogs out (who who woof woof)
Afroman - Because I got high (he probably still is, hence no new material)
Tatu - All the things she said (translated version from their original Russian title)
Soft Cell - Tainted Love (successfully covered several times, so the song itself was a multi-hit)
Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby (the prototypical one hit wonder)
Mary Mary - Shackles (both singers with success individually, but never again in that collaboration)
Samantha Mumba - Gotta Tell You (is she still active? Probably)
Crazy Town - Butterfly (I think I have seen the lead singer on some detox show)
The Knack - My Sharona (took me a while to understand what they were singing)
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal (probably still touring with that MJ sample)
Truth Hurts - Addictive (she was someone's protege and then disappeared)
Stacie Orrico - There's gotta be more to life (I liked her, what happened?)
Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting (still popular for comedy film scenes and TV clips)
Babylon Zoo - Spaceman (some British guy on an Atari)
Tasmin Archer - Sleeping Satellite (that was huge, but later she didn't seem to get much published)
House of Pain - Jump Around
Meredith Brooks - Bitch (She was already pretty old for a pop/rock singer when that came out)
Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's (nice video)
Rednex - Cotton-eyed Joe (Sweden's worst music export ever)
US3 - Cantaloop (interesting melody, not much more)
OMC - How Bizarre (indeed)
4 Non Blondes - What's Up (also known as 'What's going on' I guess. The leader singer last I heard wrote "Fighter" and a few other songs for Christina Aguilera)
Tag Team - Whoomp There It Is (still blasting through sports arenas worldwide)

I only own three or four of those. Really.

Blazers strike back, switch D-League co-affiliate from Toronto to Denver

Norsktroll — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:20:25 -0000

Blazers strike back, switch D-League co-affiliate from Toronto to Denver

In totally unrelated move, wink wink.

Hedo in red and black. Bustabucket whipped out the Photoshop

Norsktroll — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:48:19 -0000

Hedo in red and black. Bustabucket whipped out the Photoshop

Ramon Sessions!

Norsktroll — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:06:39 -0000

He didn't yet sign with the Blazers or get an offer, but he will. If we think long and hard about it, some journalist will create that rumor. Oh wait, here is one. Good ol' Chad Ford (ESPN insider):

18. Ramon Sessions, Bucks (RFA)

Teams are always in pursuit of point guards, especially ones that aren't going to break the bank, and Sessions has caught the eye of a number of teams. With the Bucks struggling financially, they may not be able to match.

Teams Interested: Bucks, Mavericks, Warriors, Rockets, Heat, Blazers, Pacers
Salary Range: $3-5 million per year

It already made sense long before the deadline, now he is only cheaper. And with Brandon Jennings they already have acquired his replacement, and a veteran with Ridnour is in place, too.

And Kevin Pelton a la KP2 also just figured out that Sessions is the BEST available free agent point guard, definitely for the long term. A starter for the next decade, most comparable to Devin Harris, Tony Parker, Deron Williams, ...

Free Agency 2009 - The Point Guards http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=714

And I just can't see any more Hedo rumors.

The Blair Ditch Project - Kevin Pelton on knee injuries

Norsktroll — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:58:51 -0000

The Blair Ditch Project - Kevin Pelton on knee injuries

With the help of an injury expert. While he also doesn't know the exact extent of Blair's injury, he provides a pretty detailed description of the situation and examples of players who enjoyed success under similar conditions in the NFL and NBA. And he still believes that Blair's talent outweighs the short-term risks if taken in the second round. Since probably no team doctor or GM will be allowed to talk about why he red-flagged Blair, only time will tell how well he manages to play in the NBA.

Bill Simmons draft diary (13th year)

Norsktroll — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:24:39 -0000

Bill Simmons draft diary (13th year)

It only covers the first round with a bigger focus on the first picks (as usual). So all the Blazers get is this sentence: "Victor Claver to Portland (yet another talented foreign player for them to stash)"

Still a pretty fun read. No Oden jokes for those keeping track at home.

Off the record he later tweeted this:

"DaJuan Blair to the Spurs at 37? How does [expletive] like this happen? You're damned right I just swore. Unbelievable."

Memorable moments in NBA draft outfit history

Norsktroll — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:23:30 -0000

Who will be the top picks and which teams will screw up is only half of the fun. Who are the top (or rather the worst) outfits is just as entertaining. Also, which parents will cry most hysterically? How loud will the Knicks fans boo the selection of their team? Who will sit longest waiting for his name to be called in the "green room", joining players like Rashard Lewis or Darrell Arthur? Which name will David Stern or one of the announcers screw up this time? So many questions.

I'll try to give some fashion tips after the jump going through ten memorable moments. Or maybe some the depicted player would rather like to forget.

1. Allen Iverson, drafted by Philadelphia

Probably the first and last time you have seen AI in a suit. And he picked a good classic double-breasted one. Nice. Mom can be proud of this picture.

2. Larry Johnson, drafted by Charlotte

This wouldn't fly anymore with David Stern. But at the time (1991, first pick) it was pretty cool.

3. Steve Nash, drafted by Phoenix

The suit is okay, but get this man a new tie pronto! Players, you want to wear something that likely won't look ridiculous by the time you hit your prime.

4. Jalen Rose, drafted by Denver

Judging from some of his outfits on air today, he still hasn't learned to dress for success. Stern is probably asking him if that suit wasn't available in another color. Also I would say if you are way over 6'0'' you don't need pinstripes on your suit to make you look taller or leaner. Unless you want to make a last-second effort to convince a team that you can play a different position and are not a tweener. But well, apparently athletes just think it looks good and ignore it all the time (much better in this memorable case).

5. Erick Dampier, drafted by Indiana

What did KG say to Craig Sager last year? Take it off, and burn it. Maybe keep the shoes.

6. Joakim Noah, drafted by Chicago

I don't know what to say. And the suit and the bow tie are the least problematic things here.

7. Stanko Barac, Miami (traded to Indiana)

Works on first look. But you are doing all the details wrong young Euro. The suit should touch the shirt at the neck if it's cut correctly. You leave the lowest button open, not the one on top. You put your tie straight before going on stage even if it's understandable that you loosened it while waiting so long for your name to come up. And can someone get him a bigger hat please? And maybe a haircut?

8. Marco Belinelli, drafted by Golden State

Here is an Italian to show you how it's done. Maybe a shirt with cuff links and a little color for the tie would have been a nice touch, but it's still very good. Shirt has the right arm length, 2-button suit fits pretty well and looks sporty yet fashionable. Nic almost got everything right, too.

9. Robin Lopez, drafted by Phoenix

I thought we already discussed the hats? NBA, get those guys some bigger hats. Please. Nice suit by the way, but everything above the neck is distracting a bit.

10. Randy Foye, drafted by ~~Boston~~, ~~Portland~~, Minnesota

Finally which hat to wear can be a major hassle on draft night. Maybe schedule your interviews for later in the evening, especially if a certain Kevin Pritchard is somehow involved in drafting you.

Can't wait to see which players commit fashion crimes this year. Who you got?