Maybe the ladies out there may be more familiar with those old-style sewing machines where a few presses on the foot pedal created energy that allowed the spindle to keep turning long after.
Now, before I lose you guys I just want to say there's a point to this.
You see, Jim Collins, author of the "Good to Great" series pointed out that in a study of 1,435 companies over a 40 year performance period saw that it had seemed that some companies reached a "flywheel" point where, seemingly on some sort of own energy, had grown from, yes, good to great. Jim illustrates this this way:
"Right now, the flywheel is at a standstill. To get it moving, you make a tremendous effort. You push with all your might, and finally you get the flywheel to inch forward. After two or three days of sustained effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. You keep pushing, and the flywheel begins to move a bit faster. It takes a lot of work, but at last the flywheel makes a second rotation. You keep pushing steadily.
It makes three turns, four turns, five, six. With each turn, it moves faster, and then—at some point, you can’'t say exactly when—you break through. The momentum of the heavy wheel kicks in your favor. It spins faster and faster, with its own weight propelling it. You aren't pushing any harder, but the flywheel is accelerating, its momentum building, its speed increasing."
"This is the Flywheel Effect. It's what it feels like when you’re inside a company that makes the transition from good to great."
He lists down a number of factors on how they got there, but, what am bringing up today.....I'd like my partner to continue:
"In fact, leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who.” They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. And they stick with that discipline—first the people, then the direction—no matter how dire the circumstances."
Now, keeping the right people on the bus is a story in itself. This is where the story of Pop and the Spurs come in. You see, a constant in their success of four championships in 12 years is the fact that it's been the same three core players and coach.
The key in this story is that all three players turned down the opportunity to make bigger money elsewhere - staying for million dollar discounts. Why did they?
The team's French point guard (and ex-husband of Eva Longoria) says it best: "Everybody asks me that. I was talking with a couple of my friends and they were asking that. I was like, I don't know. I think it's just the atmosphere here, the family atmosphere."
"For me personally, why I did it was because, deep down in my heart I know Pop will take care of me until the end of my career. So that's why I felt like I can take less now and help the team out. And we were able to sign Danny [Green] and Boris. And I know when I get a little bit older, I know Pop will take care of me. I really feel that."
Like my Dad says, "It's not all about the money."
Written June 26, 2014
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