"Making sure we have a purpose on how we do things is important." - Nets Coach Jordi Fernandez to Gary Washburn in The Boston Globe
As readers, think critically. Does this apply to me? Can I use this information to grow personal and team success?
Find purpose in your approach.
A sign in the UNC Women's Soccer locker room reads:
Excellence Is Our Only Agenda
Fashion a 'Worthy Culture'
How you do anything is how you do everything. As James Kerr wrote in Legacy, "Leave the jersey in a better place."
Standards
What is our "Standard of Performance?" Working and playing to our potential demands constant attention. Never "go through the motions." Excellence requires, "Don't cheat the drill."
Virtues
Virtues are "old fashioned." Benjamin Franklin created a 'tablet' of virtues for which to strive.
He was not humorless. Of humility he said, "Surely if I were to achieve it, I would be proud."
Ambitious Givers
Organizational psychologist and Professor Adam Grant in Give and Take describes three personal styles - Takers, Matchers, and Givers. He notes that "Givers" do the best and the worst...but the best are ambitious givers. Ambitious givers can be great teammates.
Find purpose within and flourish.
Lagniappe. Key points from Dan Pink's seminal work, "Drive"
Here are five key points from Daniel H. Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us:
1. Humans are driven more by intrinsic than extrinsic motivation
Traditional carrots-and-sticks (rewards, bonuses, punishment) work for simple, mechanical tasks, but often backfire on complex or creative work. Meaning, curiosity, and purpose drive higher performance.
2. Motivation requires three core elements: Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose
This is Pink’s central framework. High-performing individuals and organizations create environments where people have:
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Autonomy — control over how they work
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Mastery — a chance to improve continuously
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Purpose — connection to something larger than themselves
3. Autonomy increases engagement and creativity
People perform better when they can choose methods, schedule, tools, and approach. Micromanagement kills motivation; freedom fuels innovation.
4. Mastery is a mindset and a process, not a destination
Mastery is asymptotic — you never fully reach it, but you can always improve. Pink stresses deliberate practice, feedback, and challenge at the edge of one's current ability.
5. Purpose is the highest form of motivation
People work harder, persist longer, and feel more fulfilled when they believe their work matters. Connecting tasks to meaning transforms effort into commitment.
What matters most and defines us comes from within. There's an old joke about the Dalai Lama who orders from a hot dog vendor:
"I'd like ONE WITH EVERYTHING" and hands the guy $10
The vendor serves him but returns no change. The holy man says, "where's my change?" The vendor answers, "CHANGE COMES FROM WITHIN."
