Coach King Must Use Power Wisely
Wilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) is famous for his law of disproportionate distribution. His law was based on the economic finding that 80 per cent of Italy's wealth was subject to control by 20 per cent of the total population.
This finding has been applied quite successfully by some managers to a variety of management situations, for example, 80 per cent of sales may come from 20 per cent of customers and 80 per cent of productivity effort may come from 20 per cent of total input or effort.
In the 1980s, I had great success in Australia with Australian Rules football teams and coaches when I got them to accept Pareto's proposal ? 80 per cent of their team's success would come from 20 per cent of their activities.
I encouraged players and coaches to write out a list of important fundamentals, arrange them in order of priority and then concentrate on the top 20 per cent.
That exercise simplified and clarified their thinking, improved their concentration and prevented them from getting bogged down with low value activities, a mistake of many of today's coaches, particularly those who have the misfortune of never playing the game at a high level.
Some of today's coaches have become so hooked on excessive drills and other "new coaching techniques" that they are distracted from the fundamentals and often forget that mastery of the basics is the key to success.
The approach of these coaches reminds me of a story that I heard many years ago about a man who came upon another man who was on his knees looking for something under a street lamp. The man told him that he had lost his key and was looking for it.
The passer-by then got to his knees and helped in the search. After an hour, the passer-by said: "We've looked everywhere but we can't find it. Are you sure you lost it here?"
The other man replied, "No, I lost it in my house but there is more light out here under the street lamp."
Someone once said that the principles of success always work if you apply the principles. How true this is. If you ignore these principles success is sure to elude you.
Over the years I have told coaches and players that if they want to be successful, they must take 100 per cent responsibility for everything that they do and experience.
This is probably the No. 1 principle for success. It is much easier to make excuses and to blame other people and other things for your mistakes, setbacks, and poor performance. But, the cause of those problems is usually found within, not outside yourself.
This is why I am so disappointed with the utterances of the new West Indies cricket coach, Bennett King, who is constantly making excuses, criticising his players publicly, and blaming conditions, facilities, poor standards, lack of talent, and lack of fitness for the poor performance of his team.
He recently complained on television that West Indies players, unlike players in other teams, are a bunch of amateurs. That is a great way to motivate the players. George Washington Carver, a chemist who discovered over 325 uses for the peanut, once said: "90 per cent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses."
For years, West Indies teams failed to win a Test series in Australia. During that period most of the players made excuses and blamed the umpires, conditions and a host of other factors for their failure. But, during Kerry Packer's World Series, things changed when the players started to take 100 per cent responsibility for everything they did on the field.
That gave them the psychological edge over the Australians whom they regularly defeated during the next 17 years. I believe that transformation in attitude was a very important stepping stone to the greatness that the team achieved later.
Bennett King spent three weeks at the Shell Cricket Academy in Grenada a few years ago and we were very impressed with his work ethic, professionalism and knowledge. We thought he had lots of potential and only needed an opportunity to express that potential.
As far as potential is concerned, he is now at the identical stage of his development as an international coach as some of the young players in the West Indies team who are trying to make the grade in the Tests and One-Day Internationals.
Like some of those players, he has had some success at the domestic level (very different from the international level) in Australia but so far has had an unflattering record at international level for both Australia and the West Indies.
The West Indies Cricket Board has given him enormous and unprecedented power. He must now learn to use it wisely to improve his own performance as well as that of the team. I am sure that had Roger Harper and Gus Logie been given a quarter of that power when they were coaching the team, the team would not be in the position that it is in today.
New methods often take time to develop and teams often play worse before they play better. I think that the coach should say this to the players and to the public.
The 2007 World Cup is just around the corner. The coach ought now to take a tablespoon of humility and create the right learning environment for himself and his players.
He should also strive to realise his own potential and improve his own performance and become a catalyst and a motivator for the development of his players who, under his leadership, are playing well below their potential.
If he does these things ? and I believe he has the capacity to do them ? the West Indies team will soon become competitive and return to its winning ways.
But, that will not happen if the coach and the players continue to make excuses for their failures and setbacks and if they both refuse to take 100 per cent responsibility for their actions and results ? an indispensable ingredient for success.
Finally, the coach should tap into the experience, wisdom and achievements of our great West Indies players who took our cricket to the pinnacle of success in sport during a 17-year reign. And these players ought not be used as tokens.
* Dr. Rudi Webster is a former first class cricketer who now serves as Director of the Cricket Academy of St. George's University in Grenada. This article appears by special arrangement with the ChappellWay Web site.
ALSO BY DR RUDI WEBSTER:
Lessons From a Cricket Crisis