I'd like to welcome senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic and successful author Pat Williams to my blog today for a guest post. Mr. Williams is on a virtual book tour promoting his latest book Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams. You can read his guest post below then read on to learn about the book.
There was a time in the NBA world that there was such a thing as an off-season, but those days are no longer. From the Finals to the draft to free agency to the summer leagues, fans of the NBA receive a steady diet of hoops to last them through July. This summer’s offerings have been especially tasty.
NBA fans are still trying to digest all of the front office maneuvering so far this summer: Richard Jefferson traded to San Antonio, Shaq to the Cavs, Vince Carter returning home to Orlando, Ron Artest teaming up with Kobe on the Lakers and the Celtics adding Rasheed Wallace to their frontline. The league’s elite teams visited the Golden Corral all-you-can-eat buffet while the rest of the NBA stayed home and had grilled cheese. The question is which of these teams helped themselves enough to be crowned 2010 NBA champions?
The general consensus is that San Antonio, Cleveland, Orlando, the Lakers and Boston are the clear cut favorites to contend for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Because of their off-season moves, each team is deeper, more versatile and, potentially, better equipped to win an NBA title. However, there is one major unknown component here. How will these newly constructed organizations come together as teams?
Team chemistry is a phrase often bandied about but never defined. Sometimes it even takes on another name; for the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics it was the African word Ubuntu. Throughout my four decades in the NBA, I have found that team chemistry is based on eight essential factors: playing with top talent; having great leadership, both on the bench and the court; being committed to team goals; playing with passion; thinking “team first”; empowering teammates; building respect and trust amongst players and coaches; and having people in the organization of great character.
I cannot speak for the impact that Richard Jefferson, Shaquille O’Neal, Ron Artest or Rasheed Wallace will have on their new ball clubs; I don’t know their locker rooms all that well. Those teams have talent and they have leadership, and I know that those organizations are made up of great people. I just think that you don’t get any better than the team in Orlando.
In Orlando, we have accomplished all of our goals. General manager Otis Smith has done a tremendous job surrounding our talented core – Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard – with an outstanding supporting cast. Our team is led by people of great character; players, coaches, staff and ownership are all committed to being champions on and off the court. From owner Rich DeVos to head coach Stan Van Gundy, we have some of the best leadership in all of professional sports.
The team and the fans in Orlando are not arrogant or cocky, we’re just confident. That confidence comes from believing that our staff, our leadership and our players will sacrifice their personal goals for the betterment of the team. In fact, for many of our players, the betterment of the team IS their personal goal. All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson always explains his personal goal as this: “To be the best teammate that anyone has ever had.” That’s the reason Jameer is one of the captains of this team. That’s also the reason Orlando is confident that the Finals will be back in town in June, 2010.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. He is a popular motivational speaker averaging over 150 appearances a year. Williams has spent 45 years in professional baseball and basketball as a player and executive. He served as general manager of the 1983 world champion Philadelphia 76ers and managed the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.
Williams is the author of 55 books. He and his wife, Ruth, are the parents of 19 children, including 14 adopted from four nations. He and his family have been featured in such diverse publications as Sports Illustrated, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, The Wall Street Journal, and Focus on the Family as well as all the major TV networks. Pat and Ruth recently received an award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute for their efforts in adoption. To learn more about Pat Williams, visit www.PatWilliamsMotivate.com.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Human beings are designed for teamwork, and teamwork is the only way to make seemingly impossible dreams and bold visions come true. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven consecutive times, not by himself, but with the backing of his coaches, mechanic, and teammates. Charles Lindbergh may have been called “the Lone Eagle” because of his 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic, but he assembled a first-rate team to make his dream possible.
In his new book, Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams (Center Street, July 22, 2009), Orlando Magic co-founder and Senior Vice President Pat Williams says that teamwork is the key to making extreme dreams a reality. Named one of the 50 most influential people in the NBA (National Basketball Association) after following his dream and helping to build the Orlando Magic from the ground up, Williams gives inspiring accounts of the power of teamwork—many of them personal—in a book that leadership guru Patrick Lencioni calls “the most comprehensive and interesting collection of wisdom on teamwork I have ever read.”
In Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams, Williams points out that extreme dreams are only fulfilled when teams are led with characteristics like respect, empowerment, commitment, trust and passion. “Once you put teamwork into practice in your organization, these principles will begin transforming everything. They will transform how you view the world, including our society and its problems, and the political and environmental issues we face…you’ll begin seeing the world through a lens of extreme dreams, extreme possibilities, and the power of teamwork,” says Williams.
Special thanks to PUMP UP YOUR BOOK PROMOTION VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS
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And thank you to Mr. Williams for stopping by today! It's been a pleasure reading about him and his book. Wow, 19 children including 14 adopted from four nations! That is amazing.
