The Cavs have had a phenomenal season for one reason, LeBron James…Wrong! It is because they have worked hard at becoming a team! The Cavs play hard together and it shows on and off the court. LJ has been an amazing player for years, but it takes a strong team to win together, on good days and bad days. LJ has been criticized for passing the ball too much, sometimes even I want him to just dunk the ball or miss the shot rather than dishing the ball to anyone else on the team. That said, LJ is an unselfish player and it is a critical part of his game to get the ball to the player who has the best opportunity to score.
In the above picture Lebron James is completing a no-look pass. This is one of the beautiful moments that occurs in basketball. He draws the defense with his drive and completes a pass that results in an undefended shot. This is not just an “assist,” this is a “bonus assist.” Why? because Lebron didn’t simply pass the ball, he opened up the shot by attracting multiple defenders guarding against his shot. Lebron made it easier for his teammate to score. Any assist builds Social Capital, a no-look pass builds double the capital.
As we build our team, we create Social Capital. Connecting to an old co-worker or school mate is a compliment, “liking” a picture or writing a recommendation builds social capital, joining a friend’s group and even posting a picture of someone is building tiny bits of social capital (association is a compliment). Think of ways that you can share with your network.
When a newbie joins a network do you “suggest friends” or “re-tweet” or “comment” them? When your friend launches their new website, did you “post-it” on FaceBook? You are only as strong as your team is, meaning helping your people and interacting with them builds strong bonds that support your entire network. Emailing a few people a link to your friend’s site is an assist, posting the site on FaceBook with an endorsement from you is a no-look pass.
Recently I was asked, what is the proof of value in having a large network? As I listened to the sound of the Cavs fans in Detroit chanting “MVP” for LeBron, I was reminded of the value. A large network will answer the call for support. When the Pistons realized they had extra tickets left over and offered them to Cavs fans, the network responded by buying tickets and driving to Detroit to support our team. We see this same concept come across in Verizon commercials and the “large network following you everywhere.” More importantly, you will see the value of a large network when you ask a question on FaceBook or LinkedIn or even search for someone. The larger your network the more likely you are to find the help you need or want. Work efficiently, strengthen your network, earn social capital.
Looking at the picture below, Lebron is making a spectacular dunk, he broke away from the crowd and let loose demonstrating his power and technique. Yes Lebron is special and yes it may be due to his extraordinary talent. What I see in this picture is Lebron releasing and using some of the social capital he built up during the game. Lebron “earned” this dunk, but it took a large strong network (from teammates to family to fans) to make it possible. Build a strong foundation of social capital, and while you may never get a break away dunk like Lebron, you just might”get what you need.”
*All of my Cav pictures are coming from a Google Images search, sorry they are not mine.
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