#172: Coach Phil Jackson: Increasing the collective intelligence of the team

1. Why Coach Jackson spent a moment of reflection before each game.

2. How the Bulls embraced Scottie Pippen when he was going through a difficult family time.

3.  “Non-action.” Not getting involved from an ego perspective. Step back from the initial reaction. 

4. Group intelligence. Smart teams. NASA example.

5. Letting a team fail. “Sometimes it’s good to fail…rather than inserting my impression of how to reset.”

6. The intelligence of the group is not correlated with the average intelligence of the individuals.

7. Why did Tex Winter say that some of the most troublesome players were the ones who came from engineering?

8. “Mind smarts” vs. “body smarts.”

9. Smartest teams: members contributed equally to discussion, they were able to read each other’s emotions, collective intelligence can be improved.

10. Not judging a team too soon.

11. Eye contact – differences found in some native communities.

12. Touching. How it can help some players relax, be reassured.

13. Allowing voices to be heard on teams. Calling on players who are not stars during meetings and video sessions. “What do you see here?”

16.  Player leadership. “It portrays itself on the floor…It’s pretty easy to see, because they see themselves as responsible for the other members on the floor.”

14.  “What kind of energy do you bring to the floor?”

15.  Motivational strategies. 

16.  “We’re playing this game for ourselves. For who we are…We want to dance together.”

17.  Developing a smart staff. Giving coaches voice in choosing who they work closely with.

18.  Strategically dividing up the time-out periods. Everybody participated.

19.  Keep showing the players that the staff is a team, working in concert with each other.

20.  “One breath, one mind.”

21.  Increasing meditation time periods at various points of season – including the beginning of the season. “It becomes contagious.” Relaxing into the group. Being absorbed.

22.  Building bonds through skills and drills. Using motion as a rhythm.