Teamwork
I have had “teamwork” on my mind recently. I was in London recently visiting my writer, director, actor daughter. I would like to think that we are both writers. You can write on your own or you can do as we did while I was visiting. In the afternoon we would go to one of her special writing spots and we would write together. I think we both accomplished a lot although working on different projects. Rather than working in isolation we were working together. The positive outcome is attributed to the power of working together as a team.
In this time of March Madness followed by NBA playoffs, I thought of the greatest college basketball coach of all time – John Wooden. He coached UCLA to ten NCAA National Championships along with a long list of impressive records. He has written several books dealing with leadership and teamwork.
I grew up in a Southern California Household dominated by my father’s loyalty and obsession with the athletic exploits of the USC Trojans. However, during the winter and spring months, it was my mother’s turn as she had attended UCLA and was a big fan of John Wooden. USC is a football school and UCLA dominates in basketball.
All of this thinking about sports, my parents, my daughter and teamwork reminded me of a story that represents the essence of teamwork – people working together to achieve a positive outcome.
Many years after Coach Wooden retired he was living in Southern California writing and speaking. At this time, he was in his early 90’s. I was living in Santa Barbara and was the Chairman of the UCSB Foundation Board. Gary Cunningham was the athletic director at UCSB. Gary had played basketball for John Wooden and was an assistant coach under Wooden for 10 years before coaching UCLA himself for two years.
The Foundation Board, like others in the UC system, is principally involved in fund raising for the University. Gone are the days when the UC system was primarily funded through tax dollars. Now UCSB and others rely on the generosity of alumni to fund activities like intercollegiate sports.
I asked Gary if he was still in contact with Coach Wooden. He said he talked to him almost every day. Knowing that I asked Gary if he thought Coach Wooden would attend a small dinner in Los Angeles. If yes, I could raise $100 thousand dollars for the athletic department if Coach Wooden would commit to such a dinner. I remember Gary thinking that I was out of my mind and that I could not accomplish such a goal. A week later Gary called to say that Coach would come to my dinner and make a few remarks.
The dinner was held at the now closed French restaurant L’Orangerie in Los Angeles. In its day it was the quintessential French restaurant in Southern California. I had ten guests that night and each had paid $10,000 for the privilege of having dinner with the Coach. Gary Cunningham was ecstatic.
There was one more thing I had to solve for this to be as good an evening as I had imagined. Coach Wooden was in his early nineties at this point and was not much for standing around in advance of the dinner. So, I had arranged for him to be seated immediately upon arrival. I felt I could not have him sit alone while the rest of us were waiting for all the guests to arrive. What better companion, I thought, than my mother. Remember the UCLA fan who adored Coach Wooden. She was in her eighties at this point. She would be the perfect dinner companion. I was so excited to call my mother and invite her to this dinner. She accepted and thus the party was complete.
What I remember most about the evening was my mother and Coach Wooden deep in conversation before and throughout the dinner. I thought he was going to ask her out or maybe forget he had to speak. Alas he did speak to a thoroughly engaged dinner table.
To me this is a wonderful example of bringing many people together for the purpose of achieving a positive result. There were so many positives. The University had a terrific fund-raising night. I proved to Coach Cunningham a lesson in fund raising. (People love to give to dinners with accomplished people). Coach Wooden was happy with the event. Finally and most importantly, my mother was happy.
Teamwork is all about taking the risk that other people are there for you when you need them. It is about the obvious --- people are more powerful when working together.
Epilogue
My mother and Coach Wooden never dated and I don’t think they spoke again. They both lived another 10 years and I hope this was an evening they both remembered with fondness.
Love you, Mom
Happy Birthday (May 5)