larry bird and the x-man

A friend of mine was critiquing my blog. One of the issue he brought up was too much transparency. It wasn't honesty he had a problem with. He questioned whether I was giving away too much. As if informing competitors and clients on my views of the future or how I conduct business will give them an edge. Or maybe just take away mine. There were other points he made I agreed with but not this one. It reminded me of a story.

    

In 1985 Xavier McDaniel was drafted in the first round by the Seattle Supersonics. After his rookie season he went back to his hometown for the summer. His friends all wanted the inside story of the NBA. Who was real deal and who wasn't. One of them declared that Boston Celtic All-Star and reigning league MVP, Larry Bird, wasn't all that. He was hyped because he was white. He looked to the X-man for confirmation. X just shook his head and told about his first encounter against the Celtics.

It was a regular season game in Seattle. It was a close game throughout. Late into the 4th quarter, the Celtics were up by one. Seattle had possession and with :08 seconds left on the game clock, X hits a shot from the corner over Larry Bird putting the Sonics up by one. 

The Celtics immediately called timeout. The hometown crowd is cheering wildly as both teams walk to their respective benches. As Bird passes by McDaniel, he says "Too much time". 

After the timeout, the Celtics set up at half court to inbound the ball. The players begin jockeying for position trying to gain whatever advantage they can. As the ref begins to hand his teammate the ball, Bird whispers in the rookie's ear. "I'm getting a double screen up top. I'm going right around it. Getting the ball in the corner. Taking one dribble then nailing the game winner....and there ain't nothing you can do about it." Just then, the ref blew the whistle. Play began. And, that's exactly what Bird did. 

It didn't matter that he gave away the play. He believed that if his team executed to perfection they'd succeed. Knowing someone's strategy doesn't make it simple to stop or easy emulate. You still need to have the tools, the skills and the confidence. Bird had all of those. And what if in this meaningless regular season game Xman had stopped him? I suspect it would've made Bird and his team better. They would've figured out why their plan failed and found another route to success. In the end, it wasn't about what others do, it's about you do. 

I hope someone takes whatever I write about and applies it. That they say NO to unfair business practices or wants to innovate their business model or seeks to out communications with peers. I believe competition makes us better. Sharing our strategies makes the industry stronger. And, all of us benefit.