Sublime

There is a balance. Soccer coach Tony Adams expresses it well. Play for the name on the front of the jersey, he says, and they’ll remember the name on the back.

Bill’s guiding principle was that the team is paramount, and the most important thing he looked for and expected in people was a “team-first” attitude. Teams are not successful unless every member is loyal and will, when necessary, subjugate their personal agenda to that of the team. That the team wins has to be the most important

When he first joined the struggling side in 1986, he said ‘The most important thing at Manchester United is the culture of the club. The culture of the club comes from the manager.’ He emphasised that culture and values – not just players and tactics – determine a team’s success. He said that these values must be instilled in players from the momen

Basketball isn’t a one-person game, even though the media lords sometimes portray it that way. Nor is it a five-person game, for that matter. It’s an intricate dance that includes everything happening at any given moment—the

“The great captains lowered themselves in relation to the group whenever possible in order to earn the moral authority to drive them forward in tough moments. The person at the back, feeding the ball to others, may look like a servant—but that person is actually creating dependency. The easiest way to lead, it turns out, is to serve.”

Another factor is ambition. To win year after year, all players have to be ambitious. Everyone wants to improve from year to year, but in trying to improve, players change their game, which can disrupt the balance of the team.

The most interesting thing about Bill Bradley was not just that he was a great basketball player, but that he succeeded so amply in other things that he was doing at the same time, reached a more promising level of attainment, and, in the end, put basketball aside because he had something better to do.