Every once in awhile, you come across something that rekindles your faith in the good in people and in outstanding leadership. The other day I had one of those moments. While driving into work the other day, i heard a commentary that made my eyes tear. It was about a college basketball game that occurred between two NCAA Division III teams and it had nothing to do with winning basketball games but it was about winning. It seems that a young senior named Corey Weissman from the Gettysburg basket ball team started his first game since his freshman year. Why such a big deal? Well, Mr. Weissman had suffered a pretty severe stroke in his freshman year and he could no longer play. However, he worked hard and rehabilitated himself so that he was able to at the very least, get in for the tip off of this final game.
If the story ended there, it would be one of great courage and persistence. But in fact, this is not the most remarkable element of the story. More important is what happened at the end of the game. You see, Mr. Weissman was allowed to be in at the tip off but then taken out of the game. as the game progressed though and it seemed that Gettysburg was very far behind and would lose by a wide margin. With less than a minute to go in the game, the Gettysburg coach put this young man back in. What happened next is the story. The opposing team, Washington College of Chestertown called a time out. All in the stands thought this odd. after all, they were down by a lot with little time to go. After a huddle with his team, the Washington College coach let his boys go out to finish the game. And what did they do? They immediately fouled young Mr. Weissman. Then the crowd realized what was happening.
The Washington College coach had instructed his young men to foul Mr. Weissman so that he could have the opportuntiy to make a basket at the free throw line. He missed the first one but he made the second shot.
All I can say is Wow!! From a personal standpoint, it interested me because I used to coach my kids in park district basketball and although I am a competitive guy, I also realized that this was for the kids, not for me. And certainly it was important to make sure they were having a good time but that it was more important that they learn the importance of sportsmanship, team and doing the right thing. Looks like the Washington College coach really gets that. On another note though maybe this is a good thing for all of us in the business world to take note of. Setting the kind of standard set here is what we should all be doing as we run our businesses, manage people or work side by side with co-workers.
Profitability, sustainability and success in business comes from taking care of the people that work for you and treating them with respect. So focus on your employees. Invest in them by providing them with resources for personal and professional growth and, like in the story of the Washington College coach, demonstrate and live the values you want your employees to have.
Tags: Basketball
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