This season, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors fired coach Mark Jackson. The firing surprised analysts, who believe Jackson had led the team in a positive direction. But he didn’t stay clear of the court for long. Jackson helped broadcast game one of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.
After a commercial break during the game, Jackson’s fellow broadcaster Mike Breen asked him about his experience at Golden State and how it ended.
“Well, I’d rather not look at how it ended,” Jackson said. “I’d rather take it as a whole and see what took place. We won 23 games. We won 47 games. We won 51 games. We went to the second round last year. We took a dangerous Clipper team to a game 7 this year. I’m grateful to the organization, the intelligent fan base and the awesome players that I had the privilege to play. I love them to death. I’m extremely blessed. I like to think about the great times. It’s good to be back.”
Sports figures often build their own headlines by uttering something stupid about upcoming opponents. But Jackson exemplified with great composure how to answer questions about controversy. His response serves as a lesson for business leaders.
Executives often can’t prevent themselves from publicly criticizing or taking cheap shots at competitors. They mock a competitor’s new product then watch it wildly succeed while their cynical sound bite turns into an embarrassing YouTube hit.
Executives also sit before media to promote new programs they created to solve past problems. When reporters drudge up the details of those past problems, executives stumble and miss an opportunity to focus on the positive future.
Mark Jackson didn’t comment about how his tenure with Golden State ended, but he skillfully recited his increasing victory totals to demonstrate his success. He shared facts and highlighted the positives of an experience that ended negatively. He got his point across without providing bulletin board material for any further controversy.
Well played Mark Jackson. You may have provided us the game’s greatest move.