Three years after the celebrated ESPN-Netflix docuseries, covering Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, I reflect on a few evergreen lessons in business management and people relationships.
The Last Dance has concluded, and although the ending was never in doubt, the docuseries was a universal thrill. The documentary covered over 20 years of basketball history, focusing primarily on Michael Jordan – the greatest basketball player ever and one of the most celebrated (and scrutinized) figures in modern history. On the surface, The Last Dance is about the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls and their effort to win the NBA Championship. But on a deeper level, the series revealed the subplots and ancillary figures that give the story its lasting intrigue. Now that The Last Dance is over, here are some reflections on the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty, sports, and life.
Breaking up the Bulls: One of the most incomprehensible, indefensible decisions that the series unraveled was that Jerry Reinsdorf and Krause decided to dismantle the 1997-98 Bulls team before the season started, and were resolute in their decision regardless of the outcome of that season. Obviously, internal politics and an inflated sense of importance drove the owner and general manager to let go of the high-achieving nucleus in favor of a “rebuild.” But what makes this decision beyond baffling is that the Bulls were on a winning streak not seen for over 30 years. Not only did they break up the reigning, defending NBA champions, they sold their fans a mediocre product and doomed any potential future success post-Jordan.
There’s an expression in sports that is espoused on various levels of competition: “Winner stays on!” That is, you keep playing until you are beaten. The court, the field, or the pitch belongs to you and your team until someone wins and assumes the position as the best team. The Chicago Bulls’ management stripped the team of the right to continue winning together, and that is simply unjustifiable. In episode I, Mark Vancil summed it up perfectly: “The mistrust Michael had with management, specifically with Jerry Krause, was he believed that they violated the most fundamental aspect of sport. Or the most fundamental way a man can conduct his life. That is, to do it at the highest level and do it to win all the time.”
Disarray is Death: In the mid-1980’s Adidas was weathering a corporate storm. Family disputes, untimely deaths, and the absence of a stable succession plan lead the company to lose influence, market share, and organizational cohesion. Unfortunately for the company, a young Michael Jordan came looking for a sponsorship deal at the same time: “I like Adidas. I like Adidas shoes!”
Before the documentary aired it was well known that Adidas willingly passed up on Jordan. However, The Last Dance revealed that, to some degree, organizational disarray was the cause of one of the biggest mistakes in business history. Crazy though it may seem, and all things remaining equal, had Michael Jordan come to the NBA a few years later he would likely have signed with Adidas instead of Nike. The lesson? A brief moment of internal managerial strife can change the course of history. For Adidas, there moment of disarray led a billion-dollar athlete into the arms of an up-and-coming competitor.
Know Your Role: Time after time we heard from central figures like John Paxson, Doug Collins, and Scottie Pippen about how important it was for them to know where they fit in. Understanding their role was not only essential for their individual progression, it was crucial for the overall success of the team/organization. It is common to hear how important it is to attain the highest status or to be promoted to the highest position. The reality is the maximization of team success is predicated on each individual knowing their place and striving to deliver in that role. The Bulls could not have achieved the excellence they did if every one of the 15+ players wanted to be the alpha on that team. A team can only bear one Michael Jordan. An army can only heed one George Washington. A movement can only elevate one Martin Luther King, Jr.
Asset and Liability: One thing that I was unaware of before The Last Dance was that it is possible to be both a great asset and terrible detriment at the same time. As alluded to earlier, Jerry Krause was the general manager during the rise and fall of the Bulls’ championship dynasty. Krause came to the team a year after Michael Jordan was drafted and quickly commenced to build the team around Jordan’s unprecedented talent. He brought in Phil Jackson, drafted Scottie Pippen, traded for Dennis Rodman, and restructured the team to win back-to-back-to-back championships twice. It cannot be denied Jerry Krause was mightily instrumental in the Chicago Bulls’ success. However, it is equally undeniable that Jerry Krause radiated hubris and interpersonal illiteracy. To put it more bluntly, Krause was a walking edifice of resentment for players and coaches alike. As Steve Kerr summarized him, “[Jerry Krause] did a phenomenal job. He made great trades, he made great free agent signings. He deserves a lot of credit, but he could not get out of his own way.” Strange as it may seem, a person can be both a tremendous asset to a team/organization while also being a deleterious liability. And more to the legacy of Jerry Krause, a person can deserve more credit than he/she gets, but want more credit than he/she deserves.