Your Commencement Address

Coach, imagine you're under consideration to deliver the commencement address at your local high school. The committee asks you to prepare a speech for them to judge. What's your strategy? 

• Why are they asking me? 
• Who's my audience?
• What do I want to say? 
• Add "nots". Not too long, not stuffy, not boring. 

"Congratulations. You made it. Graduates. 

The selection committee asked me to create an argument why they should pick me. My first thought was, "with a straight face?"

Brevity is the soul of wit. Don't be too long and don't be too boring. Picasso said, "good artists borrow; great artists steal." Here are lessons that I've stolen that you can use every day.  

1. Thank you Principal Dumas for that spectacular introduction. And the best part was that you delivered it just as I wrote it. 

2. At Celtics' practice, Brad Stevens said, "basketball, it's not rocket science." The best part about science, whether you believe it or not, is that it's true. They don't call The Law of Gravity "The Theory of Gravity." 

3. Bring your best self every day. Stand tall. Make eye contact. Have a firm handshake. 

4. Be a good teammate. Not everyone can be a great player. But everyone can be a great teammate, but everyone can choose to be a great teammate. Being happy for another's success is a skill. Life is a team sport. 

5. "Look for the helpers." That's Mr. Rogers. Don't go it alone. The Navy SEALs say, "two is one and one is none." Not for nothing.

6. For interviews, dress for success. Sure, it's 90 degrees but cover those sleeve tattoos. And always remember, "flip flops are not shoes."   

7. Appreciate irony. My first day of school, a six year-old was banging on the door saying, "Mommy, don't leave me." I never did that again. No, seriously, decades later I asked that kid's mother what he's doing. "He's a principal in New Hampshire." School got better for him from there. That's called 'overcompensating'.

8. Think again. Do you know how long English has been America's official language. <I see wheels turning.> It's not. Don't believe everything you here. Ask yourself, "can that be true" or "is that even possible?" Some will try to take advantage of your kindness and trust. "Would you like some candy, Little One?" Don't fall for that stuff. As Adam Grant, author of Think Again advises, "Keep a rethinking scorecard." 

9. Read, read, read, read, read. Reread a great book. It's better to reread something great than to read ten bad books. Abandon bad reads. 

10. Share. Eleven-time NBA championship coach Phil Jackson says, "basketball is sharing." Share something great - a book, a quote, a recipe, a movie. 

11. Give and get feedback. Be "performance-focused, feedback-rich." You can't know if others are on the same page without asking, "what is your understanding of the message?" 

12. Avoid dumacity. You're asking, "what is dumacity?" It's the act or condition of being a dumb*ss. Don't take selfies hanging off cliffs. Don't drink and drive or ride with a drunk driver. If that someone special says he doesn't want to be with you, don't jump off a bridge. There's someone more special out there.

13. Have a plan. Nature finds a way. Greatness has to make its way. Do something every day for your craft and something for your business. 

14. Ask better questions. "Why am I wrong?" or "what could go wrong?" Players might consider how can we win. Coaches ask what puts us in the best position to win and what can we do to avoid losing. 

15. Hard work is a skill. It's not for everyone. "There's never a crowd on the extra mile." Kobe Bryant took a thousand shots a day in the summer. Larry Bird took 500 free throws before school. Isiah Thomas played for up to eight hours a day at the playground. Bill Bradley worked out for three hours a day and all day Saturday starting at age twelve. 

16. Obsess the product. Sara Blakely took an idea of better undergarments and turned it into a five billion dollar business. She never raised money with stock or bond capital. She lived the concept of "make it, sell it, build brand awareness." What's your brand going to become? 

17. Become a storyteller. We are storytelling animals. I knew a physician's assistant who asked people for their best advice. The Dalai Lama explained much of his wisdom occurred by listening to the many leaders with whom he had met. Learn to craft stories of SUCCESS - simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, stories. 

18. Study greatness. Study leaders. Character is job one. Leaders have different approaches that work for them. For example, Nelson Mandela learned from his father to speak last. You can give a more thoughtful and nuanced opinion and response when you've heard what others say. 

19. Make friends with the dead. Some of my heroes, my role models have long departed - Bill Russell, Dean Smith, John Wooden. Were they perfect? Of course not. But they shared memorable lessons.

• "My ego demands the success of my team." - Russell
• "A lion never roars after the kill." - Smith
• "Make every day your masterpiece." - Wooden

20. Dream big. Work bigger. You graduated. You can do anything.

Lagniappe. Directional attack from the middle.