Why Hunger is Important To Winning
..and results of lack of hunger
Back in 2018, I wrote an article title The Secret Ingredient in Winning
In the article (attached below) I explored how teams have to be hungry in order to win. This idea was confirmed for me yesterday.
Last year Miami Heat went to the NBA finals. They had a good team but there were some missing components. And LA Lakers were a better-designed team that won.
After the season was over, Miami did a great job of retaining the core players while improving their team. On paper, they were a better team than last year’s team. When watching them during the season you can tell that they were more confident than last year. AT times they were even brilliant.
So what happened?
They ran into the Milwaukee Bucks who were a great team last year and also re-tooled to become a better team. Milwaukee swept them 4:0.
Miami never truly engaged in the contest. They could not win a single game on their own floor.
Back to the hunger idea.
Miami was not hungry. Their postures spoke loud. There was not that drive that Butler displayed last year in the finals. Missing was the incredible play of Hero. The defense of Iguodala earned him MVP with the Warriors.
So what lesson do we learn as leaders?
We can study our teams. We can remove low performers and replace them with high performers. We can make process changes. We can build a winning culture.
And we still could fail.
Our hunger has to be greater than our opponent’s. They are also improving. They are also making changes. They are also building a winning culture.
Hunger is the variable that makes you a winner. You can improve the skills portion BUT not the will of the team.
How do you improve the will?
It all goes back to the WHY. Is your WHY for winning BIG enough. The HOW is easy as we have seen. Your WHY has to be bigger than your opponent’s why.
The team that I am now studying is the Brooklyn Nets. They are fully loaded to win the championship. They have a team that on paper might even be better than the Lakers.
BUT are they hungry? Is Harden willing to play second fiddle to Durant? Will he disappear in the finals as he did with the Rockets? Is Kylie going to contribute when needed? Can they all three play together for more than one quarter?
This is an incredible team, BUT are they hungry enough to will themselves to win? As we have seen, having all of the right pieces does not entitle you to a win.
Hunger is what takes you to the top of the mountain. It is what provides the pull. Skills are steps that push you forwards toward the top. You need both.
My four cents…
Original Article
The Secret Ingredient to Winning
Hunger
Let me explain.
The other night I watched Golden State Warriors(GSW) in game seven come back and beat the Houston Rockets. Most people were not surprised because they thought that GSW is a team built to win championships.
I disagree.
If you look at the first half of the game Houston was more aggressive and led the way to the halftime. But after halftime the game changed. GSW came out and just dominated the game. To me GSW was just more hungry to get back to the finals.
How can I claim that hunger is the secret ingredient?
Let’s take a look what happened in game 7 between Celtics and Cavaliers the night before. Celtics had a much better and younger team but the hunger was missing. With his teammates struggling, James Lebron realized that he had to carry the team. And he did. He never stopped fighting until the team won. I don’t even like Lebron as a player BUT I have to take my hat off to him that he was hungry and he left it all on the floor. He was hungry.
By the way the hunger ingredient has nothing to do with being rich or being poor. Let’s face it these are all multi-millionaires. They are not hungry for food BUT they are hungry for the glory. Hungry for the win.
The NBA finals start tonight. I suspect that Warriors will win over Cleveland. In my opinion they are a better and more talented team. Their coach is also very strategic.
Is the win guaranteed? NO! Talent is only 20% of the game. They will win only if they are hungry and strategic. That is the other 80%.
And guess what? You control your hunger.
Note that the picture I chose for this article has nothing to do with basketball. When I watch a basketball game I focus on the team, dynamics of the team, coaching excellence, individual drive, execution, and hunger. Hunger is not limited to sports. It is a key ingredient in life.
Be hungry!!!
