I was reminded of Steve this week as I was putting together the course on infrastructure. I described infrastructure as the secret weapon of successful, adaptive businesses. Why?
Steve Nash is one of 11 players in NBA history to win back to back MVP honors. The others?
Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
Even someone like me who knows next to nothing about basketball knows between 4 and 9 names on the list. It’s a big big big deal. Any argument about who is the greatest of all time includes names on this list, even names NOT on this list. And as a 6’ 3” Canadian, he looked like someone who would be more likely to do your taxes than play in the NBA. He didn’t score a lot of points (lowest points per game on the list), he wasn’t scooping rebounds, he wasn’t throwing down highlight reel dunks.
What he was doing was facilitating the most high octane offenses in basketball. He was efficiently moving the ball - dribbling, passing, blocking - and enabling his team to focus their strengths and work as a cohesive unit.
Want the numbers? Steve Nash was the point guard for the number one offense in basketball for 9 straight years spanning TWO different teams. That’s right. He left the top offense in basketball, joined another team, and his new team promptly became the best offense year after year after year, all while he scored only about 15 points per game. He didn’t get lucky on a high power team. He didn’t bring the offense himself. Wherever he went he made everyone else on his team better.
Infrastructure is like Nash because it quietly goes about its job making everything else work better. The stars of your business shine brightest when good systems allow them to do what they do best.
It isn’t always the most fun, it isn’t always sexy, but it’s the part that enables the other parts to succeed.
It’s the secret weapon.
While things have slowed down, while we’re watching to see what comes out of this, descend the stairs to your secret lair and get to work on your infrastructure.
When the world resumes it’s former pace, when we’re allowed back into the arena, you’ll be glad you showed up leaner and in fighting shape.
STAFF PICKS:
Book: RECURSION by Blake Crouch
Loved Crouch’s DARK MATTER and this one came highly recommended so excited to have started it. I’m about ⅓ of the way in and I’ll be honest. I have no idea what is going on. And I love it. Crouch takes a philosophical question about the nature of humanity, expands the boundaries of reality using science fiction what if’s, and then tells a story about people.
Podcast: Masters of Scale
Felt appropriate for our section on infrastructure and systems. It’s a little over produced for my taste but still well done. His guests are great, the episodes are streamlined around a point, and I find the advice to be among the more thoughtful and nuanced versus just piling on cliches we’ve already heard.
