Page 261 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Lessons from My Notebook
After practicing them individually, we put the “parts” back to- 243
gether as a whole. Running the full court wasted time that could
be spent working on those details—the parts. Thus, while full-
court scrimmaging served three specific purposes prior to the be-
ginning of the season, it served very little purpose after that. Our
goals could be accomplished by more efficient means: half-court
scrimmages and drills.
Efficient use of time was extremely important to me, as you read
in Chapter 10, “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece.” Eliminating
full-court scrimmages was one small way of using time more effi-
ciently for squeezing more out of a minute. I give this example only
because it might get you to thinking of ways to make your own or-
ganization use time better.

DEFINE YOUR RULES CLEARLY
Chapter 11, “The Carrot Is Mightier Than a Stick,” described how
I evolved over the years from having lots of rules and few sugges-
tions to lots of suggestions and fewer rules. Nevertheless, I still had
my fair share of rules, especially during practice. Here is a list with
a few of those rules. I considered them “normal expectations” to be
observed by all players.
Of course, balance in every area is critical to a leader and to the
team. Finding the correct balance in the area of rules is very chal-
lenging. When do the lists of dos and don’ts become so numerous
they overwhelm you and your organization? Equally important,
which rules make a positive difference? Which are simply a nui-
sance? I don’t know the answer to those questions. Each coach,
each leader, tries to figure it out for his or her organization.
For several years I handed out a hefty-sized book of information
at the beginning of each season to each player. When I began to re-
alize that the vast amount of material was overwhelming to them,