I probably visualize myself, the shots I'm going to get in the game, how I'm going to play defense, what we have to do to stop the other team's best player, what it's going to take out of me, the whole aspect of the game.
Most businesses think that product is the most important thing, but without great leadership, mission and a team that deliver results at a high level, even the best product won't make a company successful.
We can't all be good at everything. This is partly the logic behind having a team in the first place, so each role can be filled with the person best suited for that role and together, every job and every strength is covered.
I knew the Big Ten was one of the best conferences in the country. Every night you're up against pros. It's just so competitive. You can get beat by any team. That's really what I like about the Big Ten.
I'm not saying I didn't have ample time to recover, ample time to get to my best, I felt this year I did fine. When I stepped on the field for the national team, I was ready and able to make an impact, to score goals, to create chances.
During my senior year, there were NBA scouts at my games. At some point, I guess, I started hoping I'd get drafted by a team where there would be a great situation for me. As it turned out, Portland was the best situation for me.
My biggest mentor has been the Benchmark partnership. We have six partners and a flat structure, and everyone is paid the exact same paycheck. It's a team model versus an individual model.
I hesitated, too, because for better or worse, I have been one of the principal architects of New Labour and I have worked closely with Tony Blair and the team for nearly 20 years.
Toledo is better than exciting, it's happy. Because nothing is more conducive to unhappiness than taking yourself seriously, and taking yourself seriously is difficult when you're baseball team is the Mud Hens.
I'm hoping that maybe everyone on the Olympic team thinks that I'm worthy to carry the flag. That's my next goal, to carry the flag during the opening ceremonies, if everyone chooses me.
Most of the evil of the world comes about not out of evil motives, but somebody saying 'get with the program, be a team player;' this is what we saw at Enron, this is what we saw in the Nixon administration with their scandal.
In Georgia it's a little different because of the East Cobb program. It's such a strong program that we see a lot of kids that come through here on a lot of different teams from across the country that come here to play in tournaments.
I have always considered myself to be very fortunate. To play for the biggest club in the world, which also happens to be the team I supported as a boy, means I have never had to consider changing away from Manchester United.
But when you get into a situation where you can acquire a proven leader, a proven quality player, an unselfish player, a guy who taken a team to the Super Bowl, I think you do it.
We've got SEAL teams in the field that are very close to net zero in terms of energy and water, so they can stay out almost indefinitely without being resupplied.
So now what happens is the cameras follow me around and capture exactly what I've been doing since I was a boy. Only now we have a team of, you know, like 73 of us, and it's gone beyond that.
In the NBA, you can't run from guys. I think a lot of teams were surprised by my interviews, how nice and well-spoken I am as a player and as a person. I'm a guy who wants to learn.
The bottom line, in the professional level, no matter where you go, there's going to be competition. That's what it is. At the end of the day, you're trying to put team first and make each other better.
Hold at least one all-hands meeting every quarter and, to underscore the startup's team concept, make sure at least one additional executive joins you in leading the meeting.
For me, being a starter doesn't matter. Of course, I'd like to be in at the end of the game, to be a big part of the team, and to play as many minutes as I can play. But starting and coming off the bench are two different challenges.
I've known Harvey for over 40 years and I worked with him on the Burnett show for 11 years. I guess you could say we're about as close as you can get to being a comedy team.
