I recently heard an interview with Shane Battier, a former NBA player who is regarded as the No Stats All-Star. After making a name for himself at Duke, including winning a national championship his senior season, he found himself in the NBA, surrounded by the absolute best basketball players in the world. And what he found was that raw talent alone was not going to be enough.
Scared that he was not going to last very long, he started looking for ways to set himself apart, to make himself more valuable to his team. What he found was that there are a lot of little things, important things, that go into making a winning team. Things that are not glamorous or show up on a stat sheet. He focused on and made himself good at these little things. These little things had a great impact on the success of his teams and made him very valuable to those teams. Doing the little things elevated the game of the people around him.
His career lasted more than a decade and culminated in winning two championships with the Miami Heat. A team that had three high profile all-stars--D. Wade, Lebron, and Bosh--but needed somebody to do the little things. Joining the team and doing those little things gave them the boost needed to win championships.
Battier likes to point out that now when people stop him on the street, they don't ask how many points he scored or shots he blocked. They ask about winning championships.
Scared that he was not going to last very long, he started looking for ways to set himself apart, to make himself more valuable to his team. What he found was that there are a lot of little things, important things, that go into making a winning team. Things that are not glamorous or show up on a stat sheet. He focused on and made himself good at these little things. These little things had a great impact on the success of his teams and made him very valuable to those teams. Doing the little things elevated the game of the people around him.
His career lasted more than a decade and culminated in winning two championships with the Miami Heat. A team that had three high profile all-stars--D. Wade, Lebron, and Bosh--but needed somebody to do the little things. Joining the team and doing those little things gave them the boost needed to win championships.
Battier likes to point out that now when people stop him on the street, they don't ask how many points he scored or shots he blocked. They ask about winning championships.
Most of us will never play in the NBA, or for any professional sports team. But success in any endeavor is built upon doing the little things right. In fact, if you're trying to take on a big challenge or make a significant change in your life, you'll most likely need to do a lot of little things to build up to the big goal.
These are but a few examples; nearly any major success will be built upon a foundation of little things. Get those right and you'll be well on your way to accomplishing big goals.
- Looking to improve physical fitness? Park further away so you have to walk more; take the stairs instead of the elevator; get involved in an activity you enjoy like basketball (something you like enough to keep doing). Outside Magazine has a good article on the small steps to big fitness gains.
- What about finances? There are a lot of little ways to spend less and save more. Typically this starts with actually being aware of where your money is going, then making some adjustments to those little things that are adding up (the little things can go both directions). NerdWallet has some good tips about little things you can do save more.
- Related to Battier's time in the NBA is doing the little things at work to make yourself more valuable. Odds are, there are little tasks that people don't like doing. Come up with a system or procedure to make them less intrusive and less annoying.
These are but a few examples; nearly any major success will be built upon a foundation of little things. Get those right and you'll be well on your way to accomplishing big goals.