Phil Jackson was less than pleased with his team through the first two games of the 1990 NBA playoffs, and now, he needed to get a message across.
But instead of ripping his players to the media or giving a dramatic speech, Jackson turned to the game tape — with some selective additions.
“First there was Joe Dumars slashing by Jordan for a basket. Then came a snippet from the movie The Wizard of Oz, with the Tin Man talking about not having a heart,” author and long-time reporter Sam Smith writes in The Jordan Rules. “The players laughed loudly.”
“Then Bill Laimbeer was drifting off a screen for an easy lay-up past Scottie Pippen, followed by the Scarecrow pining for a brain. More laughing, but not as much,” Smith writes. “Finally, Isiah Thomas drove down the lane untouched by John Paxson, Bill Cartwright, and Horace Grant, and the Cowardly Lion was wishing for courage.”
“He’s telling us we’ve got no heart, no courage, and no brains,” Paxson told his teammates.
Jackson’s abstract methods to communicate his larger point to his players was one of the more intriguing leadership ideas I read about this year and offered valuable insight into how effective coaches routinely adjust their messaging.
For this week’s Best of 7, I compiled six other coaching and management ideas that I found particularly applicable in books I read in 2025.
2. Sir Alex Ferguson’s 4 qualities of a captain
Sir Alex Ferguson named several captains during his time with Manchester United. While they played different positions and had unique skillsets, there were four traits in particular the legendary coach looked for.
“The first was a desire to lead on this field. Some of the finest players just did not aspire to do that, even though they commanded immense respect,” Ferguson writes in his book Leading.
“The second attribute I wanted was someone I could trust to convey my desires, and the third was a person whom the other players would respect as a leader and whose instructions would follow… I also wanted captains capable of adapting to changing circumstances.”
The first three qualities seemed fairly conventional, but that fourth aspect was particularly intriguing to me. The willingness to quickly adjust to unexpected turbulence — and inspire others to do the same — requires ingenuity, humility and a self-confidence that not everyone possesses.
“No general is going to win a war unless he has colonels and majors who, in the thick of a fight that is going poorly, can muster the troops, galvanize them into action, and help them defy the odds,” Ferguson writes.
3. More success, more second-guessing
By the late 1990s, Danny Meyer had garnered widespread recognition as one of the top restaurateurs in the world. But when he ventured into barbecue for the first time in 2002 by opening the restaurant Blue Smoke, the reviews were less than flattering. The New Yorker magazine wrote that it belonged “in a strip mall in Disney World.”
After a couple of tweaks, Blue Smoke improved its reputation, but it led to a reflection from Meyer that I found particularly relevant to anyone flustered by criticism.
“Previous success in any field invites high expectations and scrutiny the next time around. People are less forgiving when a winner falters than they are when an up-and-comer stumbles. But a mark of a champion is to welcome scrutiny, persevere, perform beyond expectations, and provide an exceptional product — for which forgiveness is not necessary,” Meyer writes in Setting the Table.
It’s easy to convince ourselves that achievement should silence any skeptics and earn a leader credibility, but Meyer’s point was that success and recognition are just as likely to invite increased attention and second-guessing. The larger quest is not about dodging criticism but to continuing to make progress despite it.
4. To micromanage or not?
I’ve always been intrigued by the duality of micromanagement. If you micromanage, you risk being labeled a tyrant with an inflated ego and significant trust issues. If you don’t, you can easily be viewed as lax and undisciplined.
I thought Colin Powell’s perspective around the subject in his book It Worked For Me provided a good rule of thumb for when to be hands on and when to take a more delegatory approach.
“What I have found is that you need to micromanage people until they know precisely what you require of them. Then and only then can you loosen the reins. But if you’re not clear about your expectations, then you shouldn’t be surprised when they don’t deliver,” Powell writes.
In essence, initial micromanagement is often necessary to an extent. It’s when it becomes prolonged despite demonstrated team member competence that it becomes overbearing and a poor reflection of actual leadership prowess.
5. The 3 types of exertion
In Setting the Table, Meyer detailed three types of exertion leaders can apply: Gentle, constant and pressure.
"If you exert gentle pressure but not constantly, both your staff and your guests will get a mixed message depending on what day it is, and probably won't believe that excellence truly matters to you. If you exert constant pressure that isn't gentle, employees may burn out, quit, or lose their graciousness — and you will probably cease to attract good employees," he writes.
I liked this idea in itself, but it was really another point Meyer then made about self-awareness that I found even more valuable.
"Leaders must identify which of the three elements plays to their greatest natural strengths and, when necessary, they must compensate for their natural weakness."
That notion of knowing our default setting and counterbalancing it with something less predictable struck me as particularly wise. It’s easy to get comfortable or even stuck on a certain emotional dial, but changing our communication style from time to time to avoid getting labeled and typecast can be hugely beneficial when a group is accustomed to hearing a similar message day after day.
6. Sweat the right small stuff
I’d heard about Bill Walsh’s The Score Takes Care of Itself for years but candidly didn’t open it for the first time until 2025. While it’s full of captivating anecdotes and larger ideas from the leader of the San Francisco 49ers' dynasty of the 1980s, it was actually a somewhat critical passage about another coach, George Allen, that I found illuminating.
"(Allen) took time out of his jam-packed schedule to personally draw up a schematic for those players wanting soup with their meals: One line was designated for those wanting crackers with their soup; the other for those who didn't want any crackers. This is an example of sweating the wrong small stuff. Owner Carroll Rosenbloom fired him before the regular season even began."
"How you do anything is how you do everything," is a popular cliché, and while there be some merit to putting an emphasis on every detail, we can just as easily become overly consumed with what's ultimately inconsequential. There's a fine line between being meticulous and totally unrelatable.
7. Agassi's real problem
Brad Gilbert has never been one to pull punches. So when he started coaching Andre Agassi in the early 1990s, he didn't hold back in his assessment of what was limiting him.
"You always try to be perfect... and you always fall short, and it f---s with your head. Your confidence is shot, and perfectionism is the reason. You try to hit a winner on every ball, when just being steady, consistent, meat and potatoes, would be enough to win ninety perfect of the time..." Agassi writes in his memoir, Open.
"Quit going for the knockout... Stop swinging for the fences. All you have to be is solid. Singles, doubles, move the chains forward. Stop thinking about yourself, and your own game, and remember that the guy on the other side of the net has weaknesses. Attack his weaknesses."
I thought this was a very valuable passage because one, it showed Gilbert's willingness to pinpoint a weakness and embrace confrontation. Two, it was a reminder that fear of failure is widespread even among the most accomplished athletes and performers in the world.
It’s easy to put our competition on a pedestal and overcomplicate the factors required to succeed against it, but keeping in mind that the opponent usually has his own set of weaknesses and may even envy our abilities can be a pretty helpful perspective shift.