A few weeks ago I answered 10 career development questions about The Last Dance asked by Kurt Heinrich, the non-basketball-fan-co-founder of this website. Like everyone on the planet who has finished season three of Ozark, I watched and loved the Jordan-centric docuseries that chronicled the last championship season of the Chicago Bulls. Readers enjoyed our last effort, so here are 10 more career development questions about The Last Dance from someone who knows nothing about basketball.
10 More Career Development Questions About The Last Dance
Dennis Rodman took a mid-season vacation to Last Vegas and left the team to fight a wrestling match with “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan? Did this happen?
Not only did Rodman leave his teammates to participate in something called “Nitro”, but later that summer he actually wrestled Karl Malone in a tag team match! For me, tolerating – or in Phil Jackson and the Bulls’ case, accepting – these antics makes sense when we focus on the deal between Rodman and his teammates. Jordan, Pippen and the other Bulls trusted Rodman to deliver his absolute best on the court, which he did. Jackson personalized the team experience for Rodman based on what his eccentric defensive star needed (I heard on a podcast that he actually sent Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler to Atlantic City with Rodman and his entourage so that Dennis would stay connected to the team!).
All employees have particular things that matter to them and leaders should always figure out how to adapt the experience to meet their peoples’ needs … within reason.
If you were the general manager or coach how would you handle the stress? What are your top tips?
I loved Jackson’s quote: “it’s a distraction for you, not us.” You was the media and hot-take bloggers like Kurt Heinrich! When a team’s culture is strong and trust is deep this kind of stuff doesn’t stress people out.
My tips for managing stress are to focus on a meta-perspective, go 10,000 meters in the air and look down on the situation or fast-forward in time to evaluate how your future self will look back on what’s happening. Hugging a loved one helps a lot. And my last tip would be to get some exercise and a good night’s sleep.
What are three ways you know to bounce back from a big defeat?
Losing in the BC Boys High School Volleyball Semi-Finals is exactly the same as losing game five of the NBA Finals and here are three things our team did to bounce back:
- Our coach told us that winning the bronze medal is harder to win than the gold or silver medal because with the gold you’re so motivated and inspired to win and with the silver all you have to do is lose the fucking game and you get a medal. It takes grit and character to bounce back from defeat and win a bronze medal, which our team had and he was looking forward to us putting it on display.
- Honour the skill and capability of your opponent and try to be happy for them.
- List all the lessons learned and do-overs from the loss, file away what will help going forward, and then let them go.
DO NOT HAVE YOUR MOM BRING A BIRTHDAY CAKE INTO THE LOCKER ROOM! (Note: this wasn’t the same tournament, but it did happen when I was in grade 11 and our highly touted basketball team lost in the semi-finals of a provincial championship qualifying tournament – we were all crying and then, wow, a birthday cake…).
How do you feel about the Detroit Pistons leaving the bench without shaking hands? Is there ever a reason to do something equivalent in a work environment?
If you were defeated in a debate or pitch session or if you showed up unprepared and got taken to task then no. If you walk out and don’t shake hands because of unethical or offensive behaviour then I think it’s fine – if you feel safe enough to explain why then I think it’s important to do that (as opposed to gossiping like a punk to your buddy and then giggling past your colleagues as they are wrapping up an awesome presentation).
Which one of the ‘90s Chicago Bulls embodies my professional values?
Great question. It’s either Scottie Pippen or Steve Kerr.
Pippen because of your well-rounded skills, your comfort with being a wingman/sidekick, your ability to be a superstar when called-upon, and you care a lot about your community. You also have long arms and prefer to play defense in soccer … and Pippen is an all-time great defensive player. He also values recognition and equity, so you would’ve been pissed off like he was.
Kerr because you value a global perspective, have a knack for compromise and seeking to understand, are able to squeeze potential out of slightly-above-average talent to achieve championship performance, and because you’re one of the greatest three point shooters of all-time.
Who has a more vibrant and powerful professional brand, 2Pac, Steve Nash or Scottie Pippen?
Show a picture of all three in the continents of Africa and Asia and tell me what’s up. While iconic-ish, Scottie and Steve are too soft-spoken and subtle to have as powerful a brand as 2Pac.
In a parallel universe, what happens to the Bulls in the ’90s if Michael Jordan is hit by a car that breaks both his legs when he is 18?
Probably what’s been happening to the Bulls since Jordan retired…
What was Magic Johnson’s leadership style? How does it contrast with Jordan’s?
I think that Magic and MJ, arguably top five all-time players, share a few things: charisma, intelligence and leading by example (Magic arrived on the NBA scene by playing all five positions in championship game resulting in a Lakers’ win and a Finals MVP for Johnson … who was a rookie!). Both of them also talked a ton of shit to their teammates, too.
Jordan was a tyrant. As the greatest basketball player ever, he expected greatness from his teammates – imagine how hard it must’ve been for him to watch middling, lesser players fall over themselves trying to achieve 23% of his ability?!
Jordan lived in the radical candor space (he genuinely cared about his teammates getting better and was monomaniacal about winning) – until of course a teammate wouldn’t try or couldn’t find it in them to improve. Then it was a different story.
Who would win in a fight, the entire LA Lakers team circa 1990 and John McClane or R’as Al Ghul and the League of the Shadows? Note: The LA Lakers have the advantage of being armed with swords and the fight is in the LA Forum with all the lights on. Batman is part of the League at this time. Weirdly so is Michael Jordan.
This is a stupid question. The League of Shadows with Batman and a diabolically competitive super-athlete who is motivated by destroying opponents on their home turf would take apart a past-their-prime Lakers side until Lieutenant McClane joined the team, got underestimated by the League, and then used his uncanny trash talk ability to create fissures between the tri-alpha-male leadership squad of Ghul, Wayne/Batman, and Jordan. The visiting squad would crumble upon itself, leaving a grinning Magic and a bloodied McClane smoking cigarettes in the Forum parking lot with Sergeant Al Powell, Argyle, Zeus, and Marvin the Janitor.
A happy outcome of this scenario is that the defeat would only serve to motivate Jordan, who would return the following season as a more improved and cagier Dark Knight.
Which Chicago Bulls player other than Michael Jordan would you want in your heist crew? Why? (Note: Kurt and I are writing a piece about lessons in adaptability from heist movies; we are not planning a heist).
Steve Kerr. He’s calm under pressure. A great teammate. Very coachable (and a great coach). Versatile. I think he’s also creative has good instincts of what it takes for a team to gel. How Kerr talks about the loss of his father reveals a deep humanity in the man, so I think I could also count on him to not leave me behind. Familiar with the NBA’s tampering rules, Kerr also knows not to squeal to the authorities, so there’s that, too.