Unless you’ve been living under a bridge somewhere, you know the Los Angeles Lakers just won the NBA championship for a record fifteenth time.
15 major sports championships, that’s a pretty incredible achievement. Now let me back up a second and say that I’m not a Lakers fan. In fact, I’m an anti-Laker fan. I watched the finals just so I could cheer against them and hope they lose. You see, I grew up watching the Celtics and Lakers battle it out in the mid-’80s, and I was a huge Larry Bird fan. I guess those old feelings stayed with me. Well, even if you hate them, you must love them because without a doubt, they are good!
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. There are several reasons why the Lakers are such a dominant franchise in the NBA. The way the organization is run is a lesson for Network Marketing, MLM or any other business. Let’s focus on the top three reasons why Network Marketers can take a lesson from the Lakers.
1) The Lakers acquire the best talent
Whether players or coaches, the Lakers have always been willing to do whatever it takes to acquire top talent.
If you didn’t know, the Lakers had the first star in NBA history, George Mikan, and they won their first championship with him in 1950. Whether through the draft or through trades, the Lakers always looked for the best. The Lakers took a chance, they traded 3 of their best players in the late 60’s for Wilt Chamberlin and they traded 4 of their best players for Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the mid 70’s, they traded Vlade Divac (their center and leading scorer at that time) for the rights to Kobe Bryant. When the Lakers had high draft picks, they had great talent like Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and James Worthy. When there were great players available on the market, they went after them and got them (Shaquille O’Neal).
Between Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, the Lakers have had two of the best coaches in NBA history. Because? Because they recognized talent and were rewarded for it. Pat Riley was a former player and assistant coach when he landed the Lakers’ head coaching job. But he led them to 3 championships just like Phil Jackson. The Lakers realized they needed the best coach available, and they were willing to pay the price.
So what can Network Marketers learn from this? Be like the Lakers, attract the best talent to your team. What are you doing to attract the best talent? Are you willing to take risks to make it happen?
3) The Lakers are winners
Plain and simple, the Lakers are winners, 15 championships spanning 60 years. But more importantly, everyone knows that the Lakers organization is successful. Because? They celebrate their victories. Each championship has a banner in the stadium. Every time you watch an NBA game, you always see a clip of a previous team’s championship celebration.
The Lakers always remind themselves and their fans of the organization’s historic success. Winning creates winning. The Lakers generate success. They take players, coaches, teams that were unsuccessful in the past and make them successful, if you’re a Laker, you’re a winner.
Sure, there were dry periods, but even during those periods, the Lakers may not have a championship, but they were still winners.
So what can Network Marketers learn from this? Are you creating success in your organization like the Lakers are in yours? Are you a winner and have you surrounded yourself with winners? Are you celebrating your successes and reminding yourself and your team that you are successful?
4) The Lakers have a great owner
Between Jack Kent Cooke and Jerry Buss, the Lakers have had two of the most profitable NBA franchise owners in history. But why were they so profitable? Because they were willing to invest. They invested in players, in coaches, they invested in the team and in the franchise.
These owners knew that in order to grow the value of the franchise, of the team, they had to invest in it. They had to invest to become winners and keep winning. They treated their franchise like a business. A good business makes smart investments and these owners knew it!
So what can Network Marketers learn from this? Are you making smart investments in your business? Are you treating your Network Marketing or MLM business like a real business? What kind of investments are you making in your business to make your business a success?
Choose to be winners. Generate success in your organization. Always seek and attract the best talent and make wise investments in your business that make it profitable.
Oh yeah, and hats off to the Los Angeles Lakers for their 15th NBA Championship and while you’ve taught us some valuable lessons, I’ll still go against you every chance I get!