I’ve recently become obsessed with basketball and as is customary I’ve pondered and analysed the eternal question that accompanies all endeavours of human skill: “Who is the greatest [player] of all time?” My answer (which we’ll get to later) has lead me to re-define what true success is built on and in turn, the discovery of sometimes obvious yet chronically overlooked and underrated traits:
1. Consistency
Sub-traits: patience, determination and resilience.
Life hacks, clever tactics, and opportunistic pounces are beautiful things. The usefulness of these things however relies on them being small pieces of a holistic strategy. The mesh that binds any venture together is regularity and commitment.
Doing something once gives you close to zero useful information or feedback. The insights that transform your understanding occur on a random boring day three months or four years into the process. Let time do its work since your first attempt will often fail and failures are lessons if you’re able to look them in the face. Consistency builds habit which will do lots of the work for you, combine this with efficiency hacks and automating any reoccurring processes and you have a powerful formula.
Of course actions should be entered into with boldness and any project that seems doomed to failure should be dropped, but being at the whim of your waning enthusiasm is equally as dangerous.
“Just remember when you’re thinking of quitting — your competitors are thinking that too, every hurdle you jump is a hurdle where others will fall.” — Me
2. Longevity
Sub-traits: consistency, awareness and adaptability.
Longevity is consistency over time. Some people come out of nowhere, shake things up, and are gone just as quickly leaving you wanting more and wondering “what if”? These people rightly get their due and live long in the memory. Longevity on the other hand is underrated.
True longevity is not about repeating the same old formulas, it’s about transformation, reinvention and innovation. It’s about discerning what ‘being relevant’ looks like at each point in time, observing upcoming trends and being both unsatisfied and un-seduced by past successes.
“Longevity in this business is about being able to reinvent yourself or invent the future.” — Satya Nadella
3. Being a Team-Player
Sub-traits: empathy, ego-lessness and relationship management.
It’s a sad reality for the introverts and lone wolves of the world (both categories I naturally fall into) to realise that nothing of worth can be done alone. More than this, the interpersonal dynamics and the delicate balance of egos between you and your: teammates, collaborators and yes even frenemies often transcend all other priorities when trying to achieve something.
I consider Bill Russell to be the greatest basketball player of all time. His personal in-game stats rarely jump off the page and video clips of him don’t showcase an athletic wonder. Despite winning a record 11 championships, his achievements are often downplayed because:
‘His era was easier’ — when you look at the calibre of his legendary opponents this argument doesn’t hold much weight. Plus all athletes, and people in general, have to be judged within the context of their time. ‘He always had the better team.’ — this is the criticism that commits the most serious misunderstanding of Bill Russell’s genius.
“Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.”
— Bill Russell
Bill Russell had the best team because he made them better and allowed them to be better. The capacity to make your teammates better, to push them beyond what they assumed were their limits yet reassure them you’ll be there pushing yourself just as much. To redistribute burden and pressure to foster growth without ever crushing it. To be a trusted confidant who lends an ear and a nagging voice on their shoulder all in one.
Not being a star who transcends the sport, not seeking individual accolades, not being a personality, but being a teammate — puts achieving great things above the appearance of greatness.