In the Bay Area, we just celebrated one of the most exciting sports finals ever with the Golden State Warriors 4-2 win to become the NBA champions. They were led by a rookie coach who players called the best manager in the world. They won 83 games increasing an amazing 29 wins from last season. When the Warriors were down 2-1,  head coach Steve Kerr put Andre Igoudala in the starting lineup for Game 4.  Igoudala had not started a game once during the regular season.

Scott Astrazzante / The Chronicle

Warriors Igoudala
Scott Astrazzante / The Chronicle

His entry as a starter in Games 4 and the last two finals games impacted the way the Warriors played and they won the championship title.

The idea for inserting Igoudala as a starter midway through the finals came from a low level person on the coaching staff.  He made the suggestion to an assistant coach who brought it to the head coach and the coaching team discussed it the morning before Game 4 and decided swapping in Igoudala was a go.

Reporters questioned the head coach before the game on whether there would be any changes in the starters. The coach said no. After the game, he confessed that he lied to the media. He didn’t want to give away critical information to the opposing team.

Tips that we can use from the Warriors to become winners:

  • Listen to suggestions from all of your team–no matter what their rank–and seriously consider them. You are all part of the same team and you want to win together. That’s the difference between a team and a committee.
  • A change in strategy can shake up an initiative that has lost momentum. Don’t be afraid to do something a different way–it may drastically improve the outcome.
  • Implementation is the execution of strategy. Share the generic information but keep the critical details of implementation to your own company.