10 Takeaways I Had from "The Last Dance"(Parts I and II)... and How We Can Apply Them to Life, Sales and Leadership.

I'm no writer, but if you're like myself you've been anxiously awaiting "The Last Dance" to debut since it's official announcement back in May 2018. Even more so, you've just finished the first two parts, have way too many thoughts to share and not enough time to talk to everyone about them...

There are certain days we look forward to in our lives. Birthdays, weddings, celebrations, etc. For me, the debut of "The Last Dance" falls right in line with them. As I've been counting down the days for the docuseries launch, I couldn't believe yesterday was finally the day.

I had the Chicago Bulls introduction song playing over and over in my head. If you were wondering if I prepared for the debut, the answer is yes. Yes, I did in fact have the intro song playing on loop on YouTube. Yes, I did play an absurd amount of NBA 2K to prep myself for the 6 pm PST start. Yes, I played multiple games as the '97 Classic Bulls. And yes, I did dominate with MJ (take that '85 Celtics!!!)

As 6 pm hit and the ESPN Films intro kicked off, I was hooked. Glued to my seat hanging on every word of those two incredible hours just like everyone else. As Part 2 came to a close, I immediately turned to social media to see what the rest of the world had to say. Reporters, analysts and superstar athletes worldwide chimed in to share their thoughts. It felt like the whole world pressed pause on their everyday lives for those two hours to tune in.

Similar to others, I sat back last night and reflected on those two hours. We all know about the Bulls dynasty. We all have our opinions on who's the Greatest Of All Time. As I was only 4 years old during the '97-'98 season, this was the first time I was able to sit back and truly appreciate the greatness of this Chicago Bulls era.

Though I'm not lacing them up every night and playing in front of 17,000+ screaming fans (Unless we are talking about 2K, I'm dunking on everybody. I'm always looking for a challenge by the way...), I'm extremely blessed to be in the sports industry and live out my dream every day. Sports have always and will always be my passion (please reference below for the most intimidating offensive lineman you may have ever seen).

I'm always looking at situations critically and how we can apply them to our everyday lives. Though some of these takeaways could and should be considered a stretch, "The Last Dance" taught me more about life, sales and leadership than one would think. Here are 10 takeaways from Parts I and II in no particular order:

1. ESPN deciding to air "The Last Dance" in parts, rather than all at once: Similar to sales, you can't give the client all of the information at once. If you do, you've shown all of your cards and are no longer needed as part of the process. Limit your options, provide value as you're the expert and always leave them wanting more. Well played, ESPN.
2. Michael Jordan being cut as a sophomore in high school: In life, you're going to have days where your back is against the wall. It happens to the best of us. Michael Jordan thought about hanging it up when he got cut his sophomore year. His mom told him that if he wanted it that badly, he's going to have to put in the work and get better. While it never hurts when you grow 5 inches over the span of 3 months, you've also heard numerous stories about MJ's work ethic and never once questioned it. He was always the hardest worker in the room. "Michael Jordan's the only player that could ever turn it on and off... and he never freaking turned it off." - Roy Williams.
3. Scottie Pippen going from college Equipment Manager to NBA Hall of Famer: One of the biggest things I tell my team: It's not where you start, it's where you finish. You may not be the most naturally gifted. You may not jump off to the hottest start when first getting on the phones. When it came to the start of my sales career, I certainly didn't. What matters more than anything else is how you control the controllables and approach your daily mindset. I'm a firm believer in an inside-out mentality. We control the amount of work we put in each day. We decide to remain positive through adversity. Simply said, Attitude + Effort = Results.
4. Common forging the Michael Jordan autograph for $5: Definitely one of my favorite moments of the first two episodes. While it was all fun and games for him trying to earn a few bucks from his friend, he made the mistake of misspelling "Michael." Attention to detail matters! Treat everything you do like it's being sent to the President of your organization. Double-check. Triple-check. Secondly, it's important to not cut corners. In sales you'll always hear the saying "under-promise and over-deliver, not the other way around."
5. "Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen." - Michael Jordan: I wouldn't be the person I am today without a village of individuals as my support system. Friends, family, colleagues, professors, mentors. You name it, I wouldn't be the person I am today without each of them. The biggest thing I've learned is to show appreciation. Your support system may never know how much of an impact they've made on your life. Take the time to reach out to them via call/email/text, acknowledge the impact they've made on your life and simply say, "thank you."
6. Michael Jordan's 7 minute per half injury restriction his sophomore season: High activity/output is crucial to success in sales. The more reps you have on the phones, the more you begin to develop your craft. However as you become a more seasoned seller, efficiency and effectiveness become the name of the game. You have to make the most of your opportunities. Whenever you walk into a CEO's office for a B2B meeting, you may have only 15 minutes to create urgency, drive value and show why it makes sense for their company. Time is everything, make it count.
7. Larry Jordan and Michael Jordan competing as children: MJ states that he wouldn't be the competitor he is today without his brother, Larry. It's important that you find an accountability partner. Self-accountability is extremely important to success, but when there's someone else on the line that you don't want to let down, it creates an additional layer of motivation. Whether it's finding someone on the sales floor to compete against daily or managing-up your accountability metrics to your leader, find someone who holds you to a high standard and won't let you settle for anything less.
8. The Bulls trading away Charles Oakley for Bill Cartwright in 1988: As a leader, you have to make tough decisions. They may not make you the most popular person, but you have to ultimately do what's best for the team. On top of that, organizational vision is an important part of leadership. As Stephen Covey said, "Always begin with the end in mind." You need to visualize the future you're trying to create and begin the process of implementing, today. If you want to build a championship organization, it starts with the habits that you create in this exact moment.
9. The state of the Bulls locker room/front office impacted performance on the court: The whole premise of "The Last Dance" is highlighting how the Bulls were able to pull off their 6th championship amid turmoil, trials and tribulations. Even though we all know that they find a way to win the championship, each of us sat back and thought to ourselves, "There's absolutely no way this team is going to win it all. They're falling apart." As leaders, communication, trust and transparency are some of the biggest things we can provide to our teams. If you fail to open up these avenues, you create instability in your workplace. Though we may not always have all the answers, it's important to be open and vulnerable with our teams as much as we possibly can.
10. Jerry Krause becoming the General Manager of the Bulls in 1985: Based on the documentary, they made it seem like Krause walked into the owner, Jerry Reinsdorf's office and simply asked to be their next General Manager. He gave Krause the job! Plain and simple: ASK FOR THE SALE. If you never ask, you'll never know. If your client says no when you ask for the sale, go through the objection process, understand if their current hesitation is a root or surface objection, find value, stress urgency and ask for the sale again.

"The Last Dance" is only two episodes in and I'm already throwing my opinion out there that it's the best sports documentary of all-time. I'm tuning in next week, are you?

(To read my takeaways from Parts III and IV, click here.)