by Tim  Moore

 

Millions of accounts through business history have told us how to build a company. Tapes, courses, lecture series abound. Conversely almost no one has spent time in analysis of what happens when a dynasty ends. Last Saturday, spending some time at home in my library brought me to my favorite business books, and Pat Riley's still revered business treatise The Winner Within. Shortly after being honored as NBA "Coach of the Year," and "Coach of the Decade," Riley filleted his memories and emotions, putting in context his end-of-days with the Los Angeles Lakers. Time has gone by; like many sports teams the Lakers have come and gone, only to rise again. But the following verbatim sentiments from Riley offer us rare insight into winning and losing in the waning days of what sports sages argue was a dynasty, second to none.
 
"There will always be painful moments in a team's transition from winning to mediocrity. When we bombed out in the 1990 playoffs, we were wearied by dissension. Earvin Johnson, unwilling to give in, almost carried us on his back. But it wasn't enough to overcome a younger, happier, ascendant Phoenix Suns team. In the case of the Lakers, change ran its course in a way that left bitter residue. Insecurity became resentment, resentment became toxicity. But change cannot be sidestepped. It's up to the winner within to find in the words of the old prayer, 'the courage to change what we can...'
 
The evolution of people on any team eventually causes the core to crack, and nothing can change that. Because a basketball career is brief, the evolution will show itself more rapidly than in a standard business career, but the process is the same. The decline of the Lakers then was no one's fault; not mine, not management's, not the players. It was the phenomenon of winning, playing itself out. It was simply a time for us to sit in the same room, look each other in the eye and say, 'We had a great run. All of us. Now instead of wounding each other, let's say thanks and goodbye.'
 
It took me six weeks to decide to leave the Lakers. I wanted the transition to be as smooth and classy as possible. As comments rose in the media and marketplace, they validated what I was thinking: it was time to move on. Form changes, spirit lasts. The form, the organization, the platform may change but a winner can always recapture the spirit," writes Riley.
 
Those of us who've seen and experienced greatness in whatever context should uphold the legacy that our team and company have earned along the way. Nothing is forever. In sports or business (specifically radio), we don't need to lose all our gains. Because of age, declining ability, mental fatigue, or simply for personal reasons, some will leave your team; their glory days gone-glimmering.
  
But rising from the spirit of the winner and the winning psyche of a great organization, comes the rebirth of new and perhaps greater triumph lying in the wing, never totally obliterated by setbacks or core-cracking.
 
And in that spirit, instead of loving your enemies, try treating your friends a little better. It's for the team.