The following is from my book, WIN THE DAY. Enjoy it and share it with others.
One of the reasons they are so special is they have so much joy in the process of each game. They don’t talk much about records. But our guys have a lot of fun from one night to the next. I think that’s part of our success. It comes from enjoying everything every day.
Steve Kerr, Head Coach, Golden State Warriors
To be perfectly honest, I could fill this part of the book on Joy with conversations, emails and texts I’ve had with Coach Kerr over the past four years and all I’ve learned from him about being a champion coach. He’s extended to me the opportunity to contribute my expertise but I believe I’velearned and benefitted more from this relationship than he has. My point is, our “consultancy” is filled with joy and fun as we continue to love what this is truly about, making a difference in each other’s lives. Because of our relationship, I can now fully understand why he’s such an awesome coach and why his guys go the distance under his tutelage.
Let’s talk more about this. The first and most important of the Warriors’ core values is Joy! Steve wants everyone to have fun. It’s a game and we play because of the fun-factor. It’s fun to be a Warrior because they are a selfless brotherhood of athletes coming together for each other for something bigger than the game. With this environment, everyone feels safe and as a result, they love playing with each other. When you have fun, you will work harder and have greater commitment and motivation to compete.
From a fan’s perspective the Warriors are fun to watch and fans are as well. I love being at the games not just to watch a great culture of athletes but to watch a fun loving fan base celebrating joy and excitement. I can easily absorb the joy the bench players are having when a teammate, starter or sub, does something special. The guys literally “jump for joy.” It is fun knowing that all of your teammates want the best for you. While selflessness (see value on Selflessness) is truly noble, they buy-in because of the joyful results they get from giving to each other. It’s fun and joyful to be part of anorganization that allows its athletes the bandwidth to be themselves in all its diverse population. It’s joyful to be part of a loving, caring coaching staff that actually listens to you. When Steve first took over as coach, his idea was to find ways his guys could be happy (see section on Don’t Worry, BeHappy). Happiness translates into joyfulness. It is because of this happiness that for a large part, his team is successful.
What I want you to take away from this is how joy and selflessness can play a key role in your culture as well by implementing the Steve Kerr philosophy stated above, why and how his team experiences joy.
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