 |
Making
things happen - with integrity. A weekly CyberMemo designed to keep you on task. Monday June 17, 2002 Volume IV Number 24 |
FOCUS - Domination
The Los Angeles Lakers and Tiger Woods. Talk about domination.
What do you do with the Shaq phenomena? Where do you find someone big enough, experienced enough, powerful enough to overcome the gentle giant? It has been and will be a long, expensive search.
As the Lakers took post-game interviews just after their victory over the New Jersey Nets, Shaquille O’Neal stood beside his father and his grandfather, both normal sized men, dwarfed beside the colossal NBA warrior at seven feet one inch tall and three hundred thirty five pounds of brute basketball beef. He had his arm around his graying Grandpa from Newark, NJ underneath a Lakers cap. Shaq introduced the two to a watching world peering in on the intimate moment through a video camera lens. “This is my grandfather,” he said, hugging on the senior with whatever affection a sweaty man can muster after four grueling quarters under the boards.
Shaq and his team-mates, won the Three-peat
NBA Title in four straight victories,
finishing off the Nets on their home court. The Nets battled hard (especially
the young Jason Kidd, who showed remarkable grit) but ultimately they were no
match for the Los Angeles Lakers who barely got by Sacramento in the
Championship series qualifying them for the Finals against New Jersey. In
defeat, the Nets fans showed their respect for the mighty opposition and their
appreciation for the home team that brought them all the way to this showdown
with the celebrated Lakers and their coach for the three straight national
titles, the former Chicago Bulls’ Phil Jackson. The Nets fans expressed
enthusiastic pride in their bruised team.
It was not his home-court in Los Angeles, but Shaq grew up right there in Newark not far from the Nets’ stadium. Family members, claiming some relationship to the famous hulk, filed into the stadium. Shaq reportedly needed sixty seats for his tribe. Dad and Grandpa made their way to the floor and after Shaq personally paid tribute to Jason Kidd for his spirited performance with a hug and a handshake, turned to his pop and shared a father-son embrace mid-court, and then turned with a bear hug (Shaq gives the familiar phrase “bear-hug” a brand new dimension) for Grandpa as NBC’s Jim Gray put a microphone in Shaq’s face.
This is standard stuff for Shaq.
That’s when he said, “This is my grandfather,” and nodded in the direction of the man standing next to him, about belt high.
Gray moved the mike over to Grandpa and asked, “How does it feel to watch your grandson win the NBA National Championship, and not only win for the third time, but walk away with yet another MVP (Most Valuable Player)?”
Silence. Gramps stood before a watching world, frozen.
“He’s all choked up,” Shaq explained. “Can’t speak.”
Gray turned the mike to Shaq’s father. “We’re proud. Real proud. All of us,” he said.
And then Grandpa unfroze, reached over and grabbed the microphone; took it back with determination. The elderly gentleman had a message for the millions of fans tuned in to this final game, and this moment of victory. He drew in a deep breath.
“These days are some of the proudest in my life,” said O’Neal’s grandfather, Donald Harrison, clear and precise. “I’ve never been so happy as to see this young player grow up to be a man, a very gentle giant. He is good for the game, he is good for the sport, and he is good for all the young people.”
Then Grandpa nodded and tipped his cap to the NBC sportscaster in the expensive suit and handed back the mike.
Shaq leaned over and gave him one more bear hug.
* * * * * * *
Another dominator is Tiger Woods.
As of this writing, Tiger has completed three of the four rounds of this year’s US Open Tournament at the Black Course on Bethpage in New York. He established a commanding lead.
Tiger’s domination is not strictly physical. Tiger is not the kind of giant Shaq is, imposing and intimidating by sheer mass. He’s another kind of giant. He dominates the game of golf in other ways. Physically, he is a golf machine. His lean frame, at six feet one inch, seems sculptured to swing a club. His regimen includes weight training and aerobic conditioning and designer nutrition all following a blueprint for optimal performance.
But anyone who has played golf will tell you that golf is much more than a physical game. They say it’s “mental.” Golf plays with your mind. It challenges your ability to stay in control. Every shot presents the player with a unique set of variables. Every shot demands complete concentration. The slightest flaw in the approach, the swing, the follow-through will send the little hard ball in an unintended direction. The golfer must forget about the last shot, and live in the here and now every time he steps up to the ball. It is enough distraction to have the other three players in your foursome watching as you take your swing; but for Tiger Woods, the world is watching. Every time.
The best of the best are routinely humbled by the game. Most spend a good part of the game in “trouble,” off the fairway, in the woods, in the bunker. But in golf, trouble comes with the territory. Recoveries and saves are as significant as the brilliant strokes that place the ball gently near the pin. To stay focused. To resist the temptation to say defeatist things like “I’m having a bad day” or “I can’t hit worth beans” or “I’ll never get it right” becomes the essence of golf. Golf plays with your head. Your self-esteem. Phil Mickleson is one of the highest money-winners in golf. He’s competed in forty major tournaments, and has yet to win first place once. The lefty is the master of the blown put just as victory comes within reach. Yet he continues to show up. Ready to try one more time.
Last year, Tiger did the impossible. He won four consecutive “Majors,” a monumental feat. They call it the Grand Slam. The Master’s. The British Open. The U.S. Open. And the PGA Championship. He won all four straight. But some consider it less than legitimate, because the victories span two calendar years. Tiger is determined to accomplish the impossible. This year, he has a shot a winning all four in a single calendar year. It has never been done.
He must win today. If he does, then he needs two more. The British and the PGA.
Nipping at Tiger’s heals is a twenty-two year old Spaniard. Sergio Garcia made the mistake of venting on camera about Tiger’s unfair advantage. He claimed that Tiger’s lead and his own poor performance was a matter of “the breaks” and that Tiger had excessive privileges. This whining did not set well with the New York fans. For the next round, all the way around the course, Sergio heard cat-calls of “whiner” and “waggle boy.” As the day wore on, and the beer flowed among the record crowd of on-lookers, the name-calling got louder and meaner.
Sergio wrote Tiger a note of apology. He apologized on camera, too. He admitted he’s got a lot to learn. And then he went out on the course, and ripped. Sergio’s performance in rounds two and three was extraordinary. As of round three, he owns a solid second place. And for the final round, he’s matched up with Tiger Woods. They will be the final pair for an historic round of golf.
Tiger’s domination of the game is unmatched and unarguable. In the television coverage, unlike any other player, every shot is included and then replayed and analyzed. Specialists attempt to read Tiger’s mind from every nuanced facial expression. The crowds have doubled and tripled because of Tiger’s presence. Television ratings soar when he is in the competition. With all the hype, all the attention, all the scrutiny, Tiger continues to perform when it matters the most. He gives the masses what they are looking for. Tiger Woods delivers.
Somehow, Tiger manages to “keep his head in the game.” One might readily speculate that the money, the prestige, the personal jet, the fame, the adulation… all might well dilute his capacity on the course and ultimately affect his performance as a golf pro. But his already legendary laser focus remains the talk of the town.
You guessed it.
On this Father’s Day, I’ll be watching.
* * * * * *
Real domination is rare. Sometimes it is imposed. In other cases, it is earned.
Throughout history, dictators and tyrants have imposed themselves with brute force on helpless masses to maintain a position of power and wealth. In a business, a corporate executive can dominate using other kinds of cruel weapons to maintain a position of power. In a church or other organization, a loud and demanding person might utilize mean-spirited and manipulative means to hold a position of dominance, to the detriment of the organization’s true mission. Ultimately, these kinds of dominance are temporary. It may take days or weeks, it may take generations. But eventually, this forced dominance will be challenged and finally, unseated.
But another kind of dominance is earned.
It’s the reward for excellence. It’s the result of consistent, disciplined effort. It’s the prize given to those who provide caring, conscientious service. It’s the bonus for those who persist, play by the rules and then triumph in the legitimate arena of competition.
In the end, that’s why we admire Shaq and Tiger.
They earned it.
* * * * * *
It’s Monday morning. You are a leader.
Probably you are not known for your dominance. You are hardly a giant, at least physically. And only a few of you readers are even close to PGA Tour material. You’ll likely not win a Major on the golf circuit.
But you are master of your domain. We prefer to call it stewardship. You are steward of your professional talents. You are steward of your earning power. You are steward of your checkbook. You are steward of your time.
If you are a Dad, I hope you heard from your kids on Sunday. I did. They make everything worth while.
We can learn something from the super-stars. They are more than entertainment. They are models of excellence. Shaq is the gentle giant. Night after night, he does physical battle with those who would tame him, but can’t. Afterward, he hugs his grandpa. Plays with kids.
Tiger could easily retire. He’s got more cash than he could spend in a lifetime. Certainly, he likes the earnings. But if it was only the money, he would have turned in his bag some time ago. He’s in it to win.
So are you.
The inspiration of those who dominate their sports teach us something. Something about persistence. Consistency. Determination. The will to finish well.
The value of family. Team. Pride.
On this Monday after Father’s Day, this morning, take those lessons to the office.
Just for today.
Take charge.
Congratulations, Tiger Woods, U.S. Open Champion
Posted in Valley Center, Calfornia
© Copyright Kenneth E. Kemp 2002
Special Thanks to my good friend David Belcher, owner of Rhino Media Group and creator of WisdomGram
LeaderFOCUS is a service of Good Stewardship Associates
|
|