RUSSELL RULES: CHAPTER 2: "Ego = MC Squared

by **Sam** Thu Oct 31, 2013 1:32 am

Russell Rule 2: Ego=MC Squared

Russ writes about being invited to address the 1999 Celtics, who were on a 9-game losing streak and telling them that, despite being called an unselfish player, he was the most egotistical player they would ever meet. But it was not a personal ego; it was a team ego. Personal achievements became team achievements. In what he calls "sub-rules," Russ relates this lesson to business life:

1. Establish the business culture around the team. Get individuals to see success not in terms of individual performance but in terms of the group's success.

2. Vest people in the process. (I can just imagine Red's epithet-riddled response to the word "vest"). Help people understand where the group is going, how it is going to get there, and (most important) why sharing decision-making is a critical step in achieving team ego. For example, since everyone's paycheck depends on team success, why not have everyone on the team understand how much it costs the company to make products or provide services?

3. Create unselfishness as the most important team characteristic. Bill mentions that being dominant means you never have to mention that you are dominant. "In the 13 years I played for the Celtics, I never heard
the words 'dynasty' or 'legend' spoken by anyone within the organization. The reality is that any team that thinks if itself as adynasty will never be one."

Russ talks some more about being a team: "Only when I reached the Celtics did I really come to appreciate the joy of winning as a team. The Celtics had been built carefully, player by player, over the years.
The players had been chosen not only for their specific skills but because they complemented each other so well. Red knew each of the players as individuals, respected them, and saw them together as a team. Each teammate knew how good he was, but each of them seemed to understand perfectly that everyone had to play his part for us to win. When Heinsohn's shot from the corner wasn't falling, he'd turn himself
into a tornado, moving all over the court trying to make up for what wasn't working."

Sam