Defeating Envy Big Orange Style

Over the past two Sundays, New Vision's (Murfreesboro) Senior Pastor, Brady Cooper, has delivered impactful and insightful sermons on the dangers of envy.  Pastor Brady made multiple points, supported by scripture. 

Envy is an organizational cancer.  It can be combated by learning to celebrate the success of others. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. - Romans 12:15

As Pastor Brady delivered yesterday's sermon, I couldn't help but think about the Vols and more specifically, their QB room.  Anyone that follows this team knows Junior signal caller, Jarrett Guarantano, has had a rough year.  He played poorly against Georgia State, BYU and Florida and essentially lost his starting job during a bye week. 

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know about the QB sneak debacle against Alabama.  Many fans, former players and pundits piled on Guarantano for "going rogue" and possibly costing UT the game with that one particular play.  Many hoped he would never take another snap at UT.  Luckily, the coaching staff didn't take this knee jerk approach with the young man. 

Freshmen quarterbacks Brian Maurer and J.T. Shrout have been in the mix at quarterback over the last few games.  Both have made mistakes but also flashed promise and on occasion brilliance.  They both look like they could be the QB of the future for the Vols.  Right now, however, it's a three-headed monster at QB (due to injuries and who has the hot hand), and all three have contributed during stretches in recent conference wins versus Mississippi State and South Carolina. 

In a world where backup quarterbacks routinely enter the transfer portal or convey unhappiness with their role to coaches, it has been refreshing to watch these guys on the sidelines, in interview sessions and on Twitter.  Not counting Jennings in the wildcat, Shrout started at quarterback against South Carolina, but JG didn't sulk.  He was ready when his number was called. 

When one quarterback makes a touchdown throw, the other two are the first to greet him on the sidelines to celebrate.  The joy on their faces looks so genuine!  There's no envy or bitterness towards the starter-of-the-week, and they certainly live out the "rejoice with those who rejoice" verse after touchdown passes or big plays.  This sideline attitude spills over to interview sessions (when the players are made available) and Twitter banter.  There seems to be zero envy within the ranks of the quarterback room.

As football fans, we appreciate competition, and there's no doubt that these guys all want to be on the field.  One or two of the quarterbacks may transfer at the end of the season.  Who knows?  The current focus is all on 2019 and making it to a bowl game. 

Right now, this team is 3-5, but there's a clear winning camaraderie and positive vibe.  Much to the chagrin of the ever envious and bitter Dan Wolken, Coach Pruitt is building a winning culture.  I've never seen a 3-5 team that seems to love being out there competing quite like this team.  I'm sold no matter who is at QB, and I'm trying like heck to not be envious of teams like Alabama and Ohio State with undefeated records.  After all, envy is an organizational and personal cancer that can rot your soul.  I learned that from my Pastor and from a few young gunslingers down the road in Knoxville. 

Go Vols!  See Twitter screen shots below:

The Ninth P of Marketing

"The Marketing Mix" consisted of four P's back in my college days - product, price, promotion and place.  With the onslaught of the digital revolution and the rapid growth and quick pace of all disciplines (marketing included), we've seen the four P's grow all the way to seven or sometimes even eight - (four primary + process, people, physical evidence and performance).

I'm changing the game with this blog post by adding a ninth P!  Yes, you heard it here first!  The ninth P of the marketing mix is "permanence" as it is defined as "the state or quality of lasting or remaining unchanged indefinitely."  You may ask why am I officially adding this P of marketing?  Well, let me just tell you.

Earlier this week, my lovely wife made some killer chicken tacos in the instant pot (shredded chicken mixed with tomatoes, peppers, etc.).  As is often the case when doing home taco night, the store bought hard shells were about as durable as Glass Joe's jaw.  If you touched the shells with anything more than a gentle caress, they would break into pieces.  It was impossible to add the chicken, cheese, lettuce, avocado, salsa and sour cream without the shell shattering.  The solution, therefore, was to wrap the hard, crunchy shells inside a warm soft tortilla in order to keep it all together.  This combination of crunchy and soft is called a "double decker" and it leads me to the ninth P of marketing.

As long as I walk God's green Earth, I'll never consume a double decker without thinking of Taco Bell, Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon.  Shaq and Hakeem helped Taco Bell usher in the double decker nearly 25 years ago, back in 1995.  It was the perfect ad campaign.  Shaq was the most physically dominant player to ever enter the NBA.  He used his rugged brute strength to play a hard physical brand of basketball.  He tore down backboards and imposed his will on his opponents.  Hakeem, on the other hand, was a physically strong player too, but he possessed deft touch and the best footwork on the planet.  His game was a bit softer utilizing finesse and dazzling moves to conquer his foes.  A double decker taco was akin to combining the brute crunch of Shaq and the soft skills of Hakeem.

That ad campaign resonates with me 24 years later, and it's the reason Taco Bell nailed permanence in my opinion.  Some marketing efforts blow through time and are forgotten like tumbleweeds.  Others achieve the ninth P and never go away.  They last and remain unchanged indefinitely etched in memory banks.  Check out these YouTube videos.  Entertaining stuff!

Double Decker Introduction

With Spike Lee added

Four Alarm Double Decker

Different stances to achieve success

How to Play Winning Baseball by Arthur Mann is one of my most cherished baseball books in my personal library.  Copyrighted in 1953, the book is an easy-to-read, descriptive how-to manual for the best game in the history of mankind.  I read this book as a kid during my days of playing organized baseball, and now I like to read it as a baseball coach to brush up my skills in teaching the game to youngsters.

There are universal truths for successful batters and their swings: well-timed and executed load (coil that provides power), balance, proper weight shift, steady head and eye on the ball are a few of these truths.  While such truths apply virtually to all sluggers, there are a myriad of stances, bat-twirls and other nuanced differences that can be employed to achieve the desired results.

In his book, Mann illustrates the stances and strides of famous right-handed and left-handed batters from the earlier eras of baseball (diagrams and illustrations by Captain Malcolm Thompson under the direction of Mann):

The iconic stances of Hall of Fame players shown in the two photos above are extremely varied.  For instance, look at the right-handed Rogers Hornsby.  His right (rear) foot was always positioned in the outside rear corner of the batter's box yet he had the ability to stride in diagonally towards the front inside corner (of the batter's box) and get full extension over the strike zone.  While covering so much ground, he was still able to stay balanced, load, keep his eye on the ball, transfer his weight and get his hands through to send the ball sailing.

Conversely, the left-handed "Splendid Splinter", Ted Williams, who many consider to be the greatest hitter that ever lived started with his rear foot towards the inside rear corner of the batter's box.  Williams used a wide stance and had a short stride with his front foot.  His height helped enable this stance.  Hornsby and Williams hit from opposite sides of the plate, and they couldn't have looked more different doing it.  However, they both stayed true to the universal truths of hitting, and both of them are enshrined in Cooperstown.

There are truths in every facet of life from the business world to parenting children and every other component of life.  There are rules of accounting and proven strategies for negotiation.  Also, children are taught the golden rule, phonics and addition/subtraction.  All of that said, often the "stance" or path to greatness in business, parenting/teaching or any other endeavor can vary based on personal attributes, strengths, weaknesses, preferences and cultural differences.

A slick sales professional from Manhattan is going to use different language and tactics than a smooth southern charmer sales professional from Alabama, but they both are seeking the same fruitful results.  Both of them will use some of the same truths to provide value to their clients and hence, reach their goals.  Being able to glean nuggets of wisdom from others yet staying true to your "stance" to reach tremendous highs is one of life's greatest adventures.  Whether it's hitting in the batter's box, presenting in the boardroom or doing homework with your son or daughter at the kitchen table, truths exist and results matter, but the stance to reach those results can vary.

The Knicks, New York City and me

Me at Madison Square Garden January 2014

"How in the world did you become a Knicks fan?"

I've heard the above question hundreds of times during the last 25 years.  It all started in the spring of 1992 when the Knicks met the defending world champion Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoff semifinals.  In the previous 1991 playoffs, the Bulls swept the Knicks 3-0 in the first round, winning each game by an average of 20 points.  That wouldn't be the case in '92 as the bruisers from NYC pushed the Bulls to the full seven games in a heated series that featured intensity boiling over between Xavier McDaniel, Scottie Pippen, Greg Anthony, Michael Jordan, Charles Oakley, Will Perdue and a host of other players.  Patrick Ewing was especially heroic in game six at Madison Square Garden, playing down the stretch on a gimpy ankle all the while leading the Knicks to a win which forced a game seven in Chicago.  Check out the game six highlights here.

That 1992 series (that the Knicks ultimately lost) is what sparked my passion for the franchise.  Most of my NBA loving friends were obsessed with Michael Jordan and the Bulls.  The axles on the bandwagon were at capacity so I had no interest in hopping on.  I was impressed with the Knicks' intensity and heart.  They didn't submit to Michael Jordan.  In fact, they challenged him greater than any other team during the Bulls championship runs.  I loved the defense, rebounding and hard fouls.  I was hooked and immediately began sporting Knicks shorts, shirts, and caps.  Like my hardwood heroes, I talked trash to fans of other teams, especially Bulls fans.  If the Knicks didn't back down from MJ and the Bulls, I certainly wasn't going to bite my tongue either.  Our family had one of those old school large satelite dishes, and we got the MSG Network which showed ALL the Knicks games.  This enabled me to watch the Knicks on a regular basis and further cultivate my fandom.

I love the Vols, Braves and Dolphins, but my favorite all-time sports team is the 1993-1994 Knicks that came within one game of winning a title.  After dispatching the Bulls in a seven game tussle in the Eastern semis, the Knicks won a thrilling seven game series versus the Pacers to ultimately win the Eastern Conference.  In the NBA Finals, the Knicks played an epic series against the Houston Rockets that pitted two teams desperate to win a championship while Jordan was on a basketball hiatus playing baseball in the White Sox organization.  This may sound weird, but I've never gotten over that series loss.  All the games were decided by 10 points or less, and it went the full seven games.  New York went back to Houston up 3-2, but they weren't able to get over the hump in Texas and came up just short.

I've been blessed to watch the Knicks play in person numerous times.  The first time was in the fall of 1994 when the Knicks played the Spurs in a preseason game at Vanderbilt.  My mom and dad took my best friends and me to Memorial Gym to enjoy the action.  We even skipped out on watching the UT vs. Bama "Third Saturday in October" football game as it was being played at the same time.  Attending that preseason NBA game was a dream come true.  Early in the first quarter, Spurs guard/wing Willie Anderson drove to the basket and tried to dunk on Charles Oakley.  Big mistake.  The "no layup rule" was in effect, and Oakley was whistled for a flagrant foul in a preseason game.  That's the type of intensity the Knicks brought to the gym every single night - whether it was a preseason, regular season or playoff game.

Other live experiences include watching the Knickerbockers play in Atlanta during the 1999 playoffs (the 8 seeded Knicks swept the Hawks en route to the Finals), in Indiana during the 2000 playoffs, and multiple games in Memphis versus the Grizzlies.  More recently when Shay, the boys and I lived in New England, I took my lovely wife to TD Garden to watch the Knicks versus Celtics.  Also, I FINALLY checked MSG off my bucket list on January 7, 2014 when I watched the Knicks host the Pistons.  Carmelo Anthony played a prolific game as the orange and blue bested the Pistons.

There have been some lulls in my fandom, especially post-Ewing during the Isaiah Thomas wilderness years, but during those times, my allegiance never wavered.  Even though I wasn't alive during the old Knicks championship days, I've studied and read all about those late 1960s and early 1970s teams.  Hell, my youngest son's middle name is "Reed" after the great Willis Reed, who was the team leader and sturdy center for both Knicks championship teams.  I've taken the bull by the horns to briefly meet Doc Rivers and Derek Harper, and Shay, Harrison and I did a Ewing Athletics meet-and-greet with Patrick Ewing.  We spent several minutes with the big fella, posing for multiple pictures and talking hoops.  That's a moment I'll never forget.

In addition to my love for the Knicks, I have a strong connection to New York City in general.  My first trip to the Big Apple was with friends to catch a couple of games at old Yankee Stadium.  Subsequent trips included the U.S. Open in Flushing, a family photo shoot in Manhattan, Pistons at Knicks and a whole heap of work trips when I covered NYC as part of an operations manager territory.  For a three year stretch, I was in the city six times per year for work.  I embraced everything about it - the diversity, grittiness and overall vibe.  I even love driving in New York City.  I'm a laid back Tennessee boy, but I can flip a switch to fit right in with the horn honking, cursing, fist wagging hustle of the NYC roadways.

One of my favorite shows of all-time is the short-lived How to Make it in America which featured a crooning Aloe Blacc intro that truly captured the essence of the city.

Most meaningful, however, is my immigration history with New York City.  My maternal grandfather, Angelo Karnazes, came to the U.S. through Ellis Island in 1907 as a 13 year old boy without any knowledge of the English language. I can imagine this wasn't the most comfortable luxury cruise either, as his port of departure in France was Le Havre on November 30th 1907, and his arrival date at Ellis Island was December 20th, 1907. His father, Dimitri, was with him, but he later returned to Greece.  I literally would not be sitting here right now hammering away on my keyboard in Murfreesboro without New York City serving as a portal for my grandfather to enter our beloved country.

The general story-line woven in the paragraphs and sentences above is my connection to New York City, and much of that is centered around the New York Knicks.  I have a genuine love for the Knickerbockers that's hard to fully articulate.  That's what I've attempted to do thus far in this blog post.

The Knicks haven't been easy to root for over the past few years.  The erosion of Carmelo Anthony's athleticism and the team's inability to surround him with proper complementary players has been difficult to watch at times.  The arrival of Phil Jackson, who won two rings with the Knicks as a role player and 11 rings as coach of the Bulls and Lakers, was supposed to usher in a winning culture.  I've read Phil's books, and while I loathed him in Chicago, I always respected his New York pedigree.  In fact, his time playing for coach Red Holzman helped mold his coaching philosophy.

Phil is famous for his effective mind games with players, but he has now devolved into a passive-aggressive Twitter troll/bully that has completely alienated Carmelo Anthony and likely hampered the team's ability to draw star free agents.  Who the hell wants to play for an executive that can't keep a secret and puts his players on blast via Twitter?  Additionally, his failure to suspend Derek Rose for a no-call, no-show back in January showed weakness and an overall apathy towards team discipline.

Phil's failures notwithstanding, the worst part about the Knicks is owner James Dolan.  Outside of Jeffrey Loria and Donald Sterling, I can't think of another recent owner who is more despised in professional sports.  His horrendous history is too long to document in this post, but here's a brief history at this link.

I saw one of my Long Island buddies, Vincent, earlier this week, and he said basically the following, "All James Dolan wants is a Knicks product that will draw fans to MSG Network (Dolan is CEO of Cablevision and Executive Chairman of MSG Networks).  He doesn't care about winning.  That's why you see him bring in aging stars to market on television."  Vinny went on and on about Dolan, and he made excellent points.  Winning has never been a top five priority for Dolan.

Dolan took his idiotic actions to new heights this week by literally having his henchmen rough up Knicks legend Charles Oakley.  The Oak man was arrested and booked.  If you've been living under a rock, read these links to get caught up:

Knicks Invent New Type of Loss as Owner Banishes Charles Oakley

MSG's security chief fired over Charles Oakley incident

SEE IT: Charles Oakley arrested after fighting in stands at MSG, says James Dolan wanted him out of there

There's tons of other stories about the debacle on the Internet.  It's the biggest story in sports right now.  As someone who idolized the '90s Knicks, it makes me sick to my stomach.  Charles Oakley was the ultimate lunch pail power forward for an entire decade at Madison Square Garden.  Nobody better represented the identity of those Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy teams better than Oak.  His teammates loved him, and even more telling, the current batch of NBA stars such as LeBron James, D. Wade and Chris Paul LOVE Oak.  They all consider him a mentor.  Read this story about Oak's cooking prowess and his mentoring of an old foe:

From Rival to Ally: Charles Oakley Helps Jayson Williams Rebound From Addiction

I don't believe a single word from the Knicks PR department, and I don't believe a single word of Dolan's interview with Michael Kay.  I have never been so mad at one of my favorite sports teams than I am over this situation.  In fact, I am fully boycotting the Knicks for the indefinite future (kinda like Oak's indefinite ban).  I have unfollowed the Knicks (and most associated accounts) on all social media platforms.  I just can't entertain the thought of supporting them right now, which is saying something considering I named my youngest son after Willis Reed.

I know there are far worse things happening in our world right now than Charles Oakley getting tackled at MSG, but I just had to get this off my chest.  Typing all of this out and linking articles has been cathartic.

Snubbed

One of my favorite Memphis Grizzlies press pass moments occurred when I was able to briefly meet broadcaster Derek Harper and tell him face-to-face that his spirited and skilled play in the NBA playoffs during the summer of 1994 was one of my favorite fandom moments.  Harper played well throughout that playoff for my beloved New York Knicks, and his stout defensive presence and key three point shooting were primary reasons the Knicks came within an eyelash of winning a championship. 


Derek Harper is widely considered one of the best NBA players to never put on an All-Star jersey.  After a successful college career at Illinois, Harper spent 10 plus seasons as a stud for the Dallas Mavericks (played 16 seasons overall).  His prime seasons were played in a Mavs jersey, including his finest season of 1990-1991 when he was 29 years old.  That year, Harp averaged 19.7 points and 7.1 assists per contest.  Advanced stats (win shares, etc.) show Harper had better seasons, but for argument's sake, let's go with '90-'91. 


The Western Conference All-Star team was loaded with point guards in the 1990-1991 season.  Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Terry Porter, Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway were all on the squad.  It's hard to argue with any of those guys, but a case can certainly be made that Harp was more deserving that Terry Porter (with all due respect to Porter).  Essentially, Derek Harper was snubbed.


Fast forward to 2017, and Mike Conley is the new Derek Harper.  Conley is the best current NBA player never to make an All-Star team.  In 2016-2017, at age 29 just like Harp, he is having his best season - 20.6 points per game and 6.8 assists per contest.  Stats only tell part of the story about Conley; he is the on court conductor and leader for a battle tested perennially playoff bound Grizzlies team.  The Grizz are represented by a very deserving Marc Gasol on this year's Western Conference All-Star team, but Conley deserved to be there too.  I believe Conley is more deserving than Draymond Green and Gordon Hayward, both of whom made the squad.  Will Conley break his overdue All-Star drought next season?  I sure hope so.  Until then, he's in snubbed status, just like Harper.


It's eerie how similar Conley's ASG plight is with that of Harper.  Both were/are under appreciated point guards that spent the bulk of their career in small markets (by NBA standards).  The Mavs are much more high profile now thanks to Cuban and Dirk, but that wasn't the case back when Harp and Ro Blackman were leading the team down in Dallas.  Regardless of ASG status, both Harp and Conley are two of my favorite floor generals in league history. 

Prepare for the worst AND best

I am currently immersing myself in a Bonnie Biafore, PMP, MCTS course via Lynda.com. Biafore shares a simple yet profound learning for managing risk. When anticipating and/or managing risks, we need to do it in order to reduce the probability and impact of negative events. That makes sense, right?

Additionally, we need to anticipate and/or manage risk to increase the benefit of positive events. Essentially, we need to anticipate and manage positive surprises so we are ready to meet them head on and fully benefit from them when they arise.

Sure, we prepare for the worst. Like one of Coach Neyland's seven maxims teaches, "If at first the game, or breaks, go against you, don't let up. Put on more steam." However, we also must prepare for the breaks to actually go our way so we know what to do when it happens. How many times has good fortune fallen in your lap, and due to hesitation or not knowing what to do, an opportunity slipped through your fingers? Let's all commit to not letting that happen in 2017!

Can a Divided Nation Come to the Center?

I'm a big fan of content churned out and published by Harvard Business School.  Earlier this month, HBS released Problems Unsolved and a Nation Divided.  It's a continuation of their U.S. Competitiveness Project, launched in 2011, as a "multi-year, fact-based effort to understand the disappointing performance of the American economy."  I encourage everyone to read this 70 page document (linked above).

Some of the most critical findings in the study relate to the political paralysis that is crippling our political system and henceforth, our nation.  As I read about and studied this topic, I couldn't help but think about the polarization, divisiveness, political correctness and bully-pulpits that are running rampant in the following arenas:

• Federal government (Washington D.C.)
• State and local governments
• Media (especially national)
• Social media platform discourse 
• Universities
• Corporations

The HBS authors (Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, Mihir A. Desai, and Manjari Raman) delve into an eight-point plan for Washington, first released by HBS in 2012 (page 34).  This plan includes but is not limited to simplifying the corporate tax code, easing immigrant for highly skilled individuals, creating a sustainable federal budget, reforming entitlements, and developing America's unconventional energy advantage.  

I believe there are great ideas and intentions that can be applied to the eight-point plan.  These ideas and intentions can be gleaned from across the spectrum of political associations: liberals, conservatives, libertarians, independents, etc.  In order for gleaning from various viewpoints to occur, however, there has to be an awakening and move to radical centrism.  Such a movement would look to address reform opportunities by using pragmatic approaches that would close the ever-widening gap between emotionally driven vs. data driven discourse and solutions (The modern day skew towards emotion is odd considering we've never had better data or data Web sites at our fingertips).  

Emotions and ideals are crucial elements of our culture, but I believe the level of polarization and name-calling (stemming from emotional idealism) in our nation is choking out realistic, common sense solutions and viewpoints.   I completely realize that there will always be zealots on the far right and far left.  Additionally, some issues are inherently difficult to find common ground on simply due to the nature of the issues.  That said, immediately shutting down political opponents, university classmates or social media users due to their stances on particular issues only leads us further down a path of paralysis.  

Can our divided nation come to the center to address the issues laid out by the HBS authors?  The 2016 presidential race makes me extremely skeptical but hopefully over time, we can come together to address the glaring problems that are hurting the U.S. economy in a globalized world.  There are plenty of folks beating the drum for radical moderatism.  Just open your eyes and ears to media outlets and viewpoints that aren't far right or far left leaning.  You don't have to agree with someone 100% to learn from them.  That's a truth I try to keep top-of-mind.