What are the basic functions of managing? Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These four skills are a definite necessity for a successful leader. Many managers of businesses and corporations have these skills, but they are also extremely necessary to manage a winning sports team.
What difference does it make if you are on the basketball court or in the office? How is a sports team different from a creative team in a marketing firm? The answer is no difference at all. No matter how you look at the organization, it is still a T-E-A-M. .
Coach Hubie Brown, one of the premier minds in the business, recently came out of retirement and took the head coaching job for the Memphis Grizzlies. Hubie had been working as a broadcaster, taking it easy. He hadn't coached since the 1987 New York Knicks job. Coach Brown has spent twelve of his thirty-year basketball career with the NBA. He has coached teams to six NBA playoff appearances and also won a championship in the American Basketball Association with the 1975 Kentucky Colonels. Coach Brown is 70 years of age, making him the oldest coach in the league.
When Hubie took the job in 2002, the Grizzlies were a struggling team. This season, he brought the Grizzlies to reach 50 wins for the first time and a playoff appearance. What he is known for is his style of team play. There are no superstars here. The Memphis Grizzlies are the only club that plays as many bench players as they do. This strategy was admired by many, and later earned him the coach of the year award. He received 62 of a possible 122 votes. He also won coach of the year in 1978 when coaching the Atlanta Hawks.
Hubie Brown has turned the Memphis Grizzlies club around. They may not have any championship rings yet, but this season alone has been remarkable. The level of improvement is astonishing. I think one of the reasons why he is such a good coach is because he has good ideas for group development.
