It’s not every day you get to use the word ‘ballyhoo.’ But on Tuesday, those of us in the New York area had that opportunity when the Knicks announced basketball legend Phil Jackson as their new president in a much ballyhooed press conference.
Every major news outlet was on hand as the Knicks paraded out Jackson, the man who’s being called on to save the struggling organization. The team’s owner touted it as a “historic day,” and jerseys bearing the number Jackson wore during his playing days immediately went on sale. The only thing missing was a white horse.
But what I found most interesting was the theme of the day: culture change. Jackson talked about the need for fundamental shift in how the Knicks operate that will build a potential championship foundation.
If you know anything about the organization, you know that’s a tall order. The team has been plagued by disastrous player and personnel moves, most of which were orchestrated by James Dolan, the club’s notoriously hands-on owner. When he doesn’t see results right away, Dolan tends to step in and strip power from those working for him and undermine their decisions. Not exactly a recipe for success.
If anything is going to change, it has to start with Dolan. To his credit, he did acknowledge that he needs to step aside and leave the decision-making to Jackson, who has accumulated 13 championship rings over the course of a legendary career. In fact, Dolan said he would cede power “willingly and gratefully.”
That all sounds great, but it is really that easy? Can a micro-manager just turn that off like a light switch because he hired a rock star?
In the Knicks’ case, there is a big mess to clean up. The roster needs an overhaul, the coach has one foot out the door, and better decisions need to be made when it comes to evaluating talent. Jackson will need to build from the ground up. But to expect total autonomy is foolish, a NY Times article pointed out. “The owner signs the checks, after all. But Jackson has accomplished everything in the game that Dolan has not, and it behooves Dolan to give Jackson a wide berth.”
Doing that is going require a dramatic shift in culture, and I have news for the Knicks and their fans: It’s not going to happen overnight, and it’s not going to happen without a few (or maybe several) hiccups. For the idea of culture change to be tossed around so lightly is laughable. There are conference sessions, webinars, and entire blogs (like Culture Infusion) devoted entirely to this very topic. What on earth makes the Knicks organization believe that bringing in a big name is going to reverse years of dysfunctional practices just like that?
Don’t get me wrong, Jackson is one of the most brilliant minds in basketball, but that’s only half the battle. In a piece published last year, Chris Walden (who co-authors Culture Infusion along with Bill Rieger) cited a very telling statistic from RoundPegg: “only 17 percent of an employee’s success is attributed to their skill and the other 83 percent is directly related to how they fit into your company’s culture.”
In other words, you can bring in an expert who has the best ideas and the right tools to help turn around a struggling organization, but if the company culture prevents him or her from implementing those ideas, then what’s the point? It’s precisely why people often say that culture eats strategy for breakfast. When we spoke with Kirk Kirksey, VP of IS at UT Southwestern Medical Center, about what this means, he explained it this way: “You need to assess in your own mind what the culture will allow you to do, how far you can push the culture, and what you can change and what you can’t change.”
Fortunately for Jackson, there are some things he can change. And the time to start testing the waters is now — when the owner seems willing to step aside and let Jackson get his feet wet, and when the organization seems receptive to change. Now is the time to capitalize on the ballyhoo and start pushing his own agenda.
Because before he knows it, the window will have closed and the white horse will be gone.
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