3 Lessons from The Last Dance
Michael Jordan reacts after hitting the game-winning basket over Cleveland's Craig Ehlo in 1989. (Eddie Wagner, Chicago Tribune)
When I was 12 years old, I was in Chicago finishing up a school year there. Michael Jordan and the Bulls were just a few series away from their first 3-peat. Even living in Europe prior to that school year, he was already famous all over the world.
There were no social media, no tweets, nothing shared over the internet - there was no internet, really. When you got to see the Bulls play it was a moment for the ages. One could argue there’s been no team like it since and there hasn’t been a player as influential as MJ to this day.
After watching ESPN’s Last Dance, it provided an amazing retrospective glance at what was going on at the time. Throughout high school many of us were shooting hoops pretending to be MJ, Pippen, and the crew. My high school was a basketball school, always making a run at state throughout my years there and winning it all the year I graduated. You could say basketball was all around me. We played everywhere, in all weather conditions; it was free; it was fun.
As an adult, I now look back at that amazing dynasty with a different lens. The documentary had so many valuable lessons embedded in its 10 episodes. I even got my wife to watch it with me, and she’s not a sports fan. I finished it a few weeks ago, and 3 specific lessons continue to echo in my mind as an entrepreneur, a leader, and a creative. I hope that these observations, if anything, make you want to watch or rewatch the documentary and cause you to dive deeper into the many other lessons found there. If you look closely, The Last Dance is a gold mine for timeless leadership principles. The characters in the story, if you happen to have grown up watching them, are a delightful bonus.
Make today’s ceiling tomorrow’s baseline.
Scottie and Michael during a game against the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1998. (Andy Hayt / NBAE via Getty Images)
Scottie and Michael during a game against the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1998. (Andy Hayt / NBAE via Getty Images)
This line was formulated by John Maxwell, and he sums it up so well with those words. We’re challenged every single day with things that stretch us. Leaders, on a good day (or not), go as far as they can go. Daily. Leaders start from where they left off the next day. It’s the long game that counts - the championship is in sight, not the games. Goals are set well ahead of us and we know that we have to take incremental steps to get there - but we must give it everything, every day.
From the many interviews in The Last Dance, as well as his urban legends might have it, there weren’t many who worked harder than Michael Jordan. Yes, he was talented, but as you can see in his road to two separate 3-peats and 6 championships in 8 seasons, he worked for it. He hit the gym when he needed to, he understood his terrain, and he adapted to and prepared for his competition (watch the Detroit Pistons episode closely). From his days on entering the league in 1984 playing with questionable characters, he made a decision to commit to his craft with everything he had, without distraction. A quote I continue to hear throughout books, podcasts, and articles lately has been this one: “You don’t rise to expectations, but sink to the level of your training” - a quote from Greek poet Archilochus adapted by the US Marines. Michael pushed his teammates and didn’t make anyone do anything he wasn’t prepared to do. That’s leadership by example and he was determined to win at all cost. Anyone struggling to get on board would eventually self-select out.
“Practice like you’ve never won, play like you’ve never lost.” - MJ
There’s an emotional moment in later episodes where Michael asks to stop the interview and that was when he was asked about his intensity as a leader. That part of the documentary showed some regret, but like many leaders of his caliber, I’m sure there wasn’t an alternative to his drive - no downshifting, no other gear available. At least not in the moment. That’s the price he paid throughout his campaigns in taking his team to the top. The results were apparent and MJ’s Bulls to this day are remembered as the best team in NBA history.
2. Our personal battles unify us as people.
In one of the episodes, Michael and Steve Kerr describe an altercation between them when MJ returns from baseball to join a Bulls team which was almost an entirely new team. Steve had something to prove as a role player (the player that came out to close the game or who specializes in something very specific, getting only a few minutes per game). Michael pushed his teammates hard, almost to a fault. Steve, being a tough player himself in his own right, decided not to be bullied around by MJ. He stood his ground. Michael tested him one day at practice and something broke inside of Steve. It resulted in a physical resolution that they both recall to be outrageous to this day. The two became close because of it, and won 3 championships together. What was most surprising about that part of the story is what’s revealed about Steve later on. Steve’s father was murdered while working overseas as the president of a university in Beirut, Lebanon in 1984, the year Michael entered the league. Kerr was 18 years old and just entering college. In 1993, Michael lost the most important figure in his life, his dad, just weeks after he won his 3rd championship. Michael was 30. According to Steve Kerr, the two of them never spoke about what happened to their fathers, but they knew about each other’s stories. They had a unique connection.
Steve Kerr and MJ 1996, NBA.com
Though they were at different stages in their lives and careers, one can see how their losses impacted their decision-making, their resolve, and their tenacity. Both of these men used the unfortunate for fuel. They were broken, hurt, and in pain, being ripped away from their real life heroes. In 1996, Jordan’s first full season back in the league, the documentary shows him on the floor breaking down not being able to share the win with his dad as he clutched to his 4th championship trophy, sobbing. The moment is heartbreaking.
We’ve all gone through much, and we've chosen to use it in one way or another. What are the people around you going through? Are you aware of their situation, maybe their days past? We are all human; those you lead, those you battle alongside daily have a deeper story you may not yet have heard. Leaders, you’re human too. You have a past you’re still getting over and are dealing with past decisions each day, whether you recognize it or not. Converted into fuel, our humanity and humility can be used to do something extraordinary together. Are you just a few inches away from a magic formula with the team you have right now? Get human, get connected.
3. One intentional decision can determine your legacy.
Michael and his dad James, 1993. espn.com
The obvious message of The Last Dance is observing the heart of a champion and seeing what it takes to succeed. But I believe the documentary showed something much deeper than that in every individual highlighted. Good, bad, admirable, or despicable, we got to see it all. MJ was surrounded by amazing people who all had issues, including himself. The one refrain? Character is everything. D.L. Moody once said,"If I take care of my character my reputation will take care of itself.” That’s as simplified as it gets, yet as dense as it gets.
Taking care of your character is a full time job. Integrity is to be protected at all cost. If you breathe air, you can bet those two will be tested by others, by circumstances, by you. It’s the game changer, the X-factor, the legacy setter. When Michael joined the bulls in 1984, he came in as an explosive rookie but had infiltrated a horrible team. One story Michael recalls candidly was what he saw as a rookie when he knocked on his fellow teammates’ hotel rooms while on the road. On a consistent basis, there were hard drugs, alcohol, women…nothing that screamed the road to winning championships. Jordan had a choice to make. From his own lips he said he knew those things weren't going to be what he would choose. As a young rookie coming into the league, he chose basketball. Can you imagine the game without Michael Jordan? That single decision caused him some strains with his teammates. He was the outsider. Little did he know, he was going to set the example for millions of young athletes for decades to come. One decision. That’s the kind of outsider you want to be.
The 1997-98 Bulls, during the season dubbed by Coach Phil Jackson as “The Last Dance”. espn.com
Throughout The Last Dance you get a glimpse at amazing individuals within the Bulls team, like legendary coach Phil Jackson, one of the league’s best Scottie Pippen, the shrewd and infamous GM Jerry Kraus, and many others. Their characters shine throughout their interviews and their accomplishments. It’s on display through every word others say about them. Their reputations are shaped from their character - the only thing they could protect, control, nurture, and develop on their own. Some work on it a lot; others do not. One surprising scene was when Michael was asked to chime in on a highly political/racial issue put forth by politicians at the time, putting him on the spot and hoping he would advance their agenda. Michael distanced himself from that with poise and wisdom, saying he was just a basketball player, that’s all he knew and doesn’t feel the need to chime in. I wonder what other celebrity athletes and other high profile characters in the spotlight today thought about this when they watched it. In my eyes, Michael surely had opinions but chose not to be divisive by making them public. When Michael spoke, the world listened back then. He was that impactful. He knew he’d impact more people for good by practicing self control. The media, as usual, had a heyday with his decision to stay quiet, upset they couldn’t get a statement to spin. Another example of a decision that set him apart from the rest, making him at the time, the very best.
The Last Dance is rich with amazing leadership lessons and will raise questions in your own life as a leader, employer, employee, teammate, colleague, parent, friend… you name it. It is incredibly dense and will hold your attention.
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