Imagine it’s a new staff every day, because it is

Imagine that a longtime leader-manager told you one of his secrets to success was to work with a new staff every day.

You’d wonder what he was talking about. You’d think he was crazy. A new staff every day?

Impossible.

We recently came across a statement from Duke University’s h

ead basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski, on the blog of the business author Tom Peters about how Coach K thinks about leading his student athletes. Krzyzewski has successfully built championship college basketball teams for 30 years.

Krzyzewski was quoted in a newspaper interview as saying, “Things don’t stay the same. You have to understand that not only your business situation changes, but the people you’re working with aren’t the same day to day. Someone is sick. Someone is having a wedding. You must gauge the mood, the thinking level of the team that day.”

Peters’ reaction to Coach K’s statement was as follows: “That is, your six-person project team or seven-person training department or 18-person housekeeping unit is a new puzzle every day. It’s far beyond ‘treat everybody differently according to their skills,’ etc. It’s that in a 220-day work year, we the leader-manager face 220 different teams. Every day is a new crossword puzzle. If such constant puzzle solving isn’t your cup of tea, then leave the leading-managing to someone else.”

Coach K’s quote made us wonder whether leaders really understand what motivates their employees from day to day. Do leaders really understand the changes going on with their staff when they walk into the office each day?

Like Peters, we agree that his comment states the obvious. Of course, outside of the job influences and job-related issues that any employee deals with day to day affects their motivation. Employees can feel challenged one day and not the next day. They can feel valued for the work they do this week and feel not a part of the team the next week.

Coach K’s insight is that the impact of these internal and external influences on the members of your team isn’t just on the margins. As Peters puts it, you have a different crossword puzzle to solve each day. You need to view your team through this lens of constant change.

Think for a moment about the implications of Krzyzewski’s idea that your business has a different “staff” each day.

Most entrepreneurs don’t come to work each day and manage their business thinking this way. Why would they? If the organizational chart is stable, the team is fairly stable. They already have enough problems on their plate to solve each day — especially with the economy.

Building a company culture where staff grow and prosper is essential to a successful bottom line. But small business owners typically think the significant impact of changes with their employees occurs over a much, much longer time horizon.

If Coach K is right, small business owners not only need to raise the game of their problem-solving skills, they also need to face each day with a different level of energy and creativity leading a “new team” each day. They need to give much more attention to the needs of that team.

We believe Coach K’s perspective on building a team will be helpful to your small business. He has had a long record of success, and we see real value in his idea and think it will make you an even more effective leader and manager.

Pat Sisneros is the vice president of College Services at Everett Community College. Juergen Kneifel is an associate faculty member in the EvCC Entrepreneurship program. Send your comments to entrepreneurship@everettcc.edu.

Talk to us

More in Herald Business Journal

FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Sept. 30, 2020. Boeing said Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, that it took more than 200 net orders for passenger airplanes in December and finished 2022 with its best year since 2018, which was before two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max jet and a pandemic that choked off demand for new planes. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Boeing inks deal for up to 300 737 Max planes with Ryanair

At Boeing’s list prices, the deal would be worth more than $40 billion if Ryanair exercises all the options.

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Four recognized for building a better community

Economic Alliance of Snohomish County hosts annual awards

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Business Briefs: Pandemic recovery aid and workforce support program

Snohomish County launches small business COVID recovery program, and is now accepting NOFA grant applications.

Elson S. Floyd Award winner NAACP President Janice Greene. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Janice Greene: An advocate for supplier diversity and BIPOC opportunities

The president of the Snohomish County NAACP since 2008 is the recipient of this year’s Elson S. Floyd Award.

Emerging Leader Rilee Louangphakdy (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Rilee Louangphakdy: A community volunteer since his teens

Volunteering lifted his spirits and connected him with others after the death of a family member.

Emerging Leader Alex McGinty (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Alex Zitnik-McGinty: Find a group you like and volunteer!

Her volunteer activities cover the spectrum. Fitting in “service work is important as we grow.”

Opportunity Lives Here award winner Workforce Snohomish and director, Joy Emory. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Workforce Snohomish receives Opportunity Lives Here Award

Workforce offers a suite of free services to job seekers and businesses in Snohomish County.

Henry M. Jackson award winner Tom Lane. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tom Lane: An advocate for small and local businesses

The CEO of Dwayne Lane’s Auto Family is a recipient of this year’s Henry M. Jackson Award.

John M. Fluke Sr. award winner Dom Amor. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Dom Amor: Working behind the scenes to improve the region

Dom Amor is the recipient of this year’s John M. Fluke Sr. Award

Dr. David Kirtley at the new Helion headquarters in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022  (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett nuclear fusion energy company nets first customer: Microsoft

The Everett company, on a quest to produce carbon-free electricity, agreed to provide power to the software giant by 2028.

Hunter Mattson, center, is guided by Blake Horton, right, on a virtual welding simulation during a trade fair at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. High school kids learned about various trades at the event. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Trade fair gives Snohomish County kids glimpse of college alternatives

Showcasing the trades, the Trade Up event in Monroe drew hundreds of high school students from east Snohomish County.

A Tesla Model Y Long Range is displayed on Feb. 24, 2021, at the Tesla Gallery in Troy, Mich.  Opinion polls show that most Americans would consider an EV if it cost less, if more charging stations existed and if a wider variety of models were available. The models are coming, but they may roll out ahead of consumer tastes. And that could spell problems for the U.S. auto industry, which is sinking billions into the new technology with dozens of new vehicles on the way.  (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Tesla leases space at Marysville business park

Elon Musk’s electric car company reportedly leased a massive new building at the Cascade Business Park.