The Spurs model for excellence and success - Part. 1

The San Antonio Spurs have won their fifth championship.  The Spurs now have the highest winning percentage of not just any basketball organization but any sports organization and have broken a number of records in the last two finals.  Forbes lists the Spurs as number 10 on Forbes NBA Team valuations 

One of the thoughts stressed by coach Popovich is give up a good shot for a great shot.  This entails a player not taking or passing on an opportunity for a good shot and give the ball to a teammate who is in a position to take a great shot.  This brings to mind a comment I once read that says you have to say no to the good so you can say yes to the best.  

There are opportunities and choices that are good, but are they the best?  There is always a limit to the time and resources available but this is more pronounced for small business owners.  Small business owners do not have the cash flow or other resources of larger organizations and so being able to do this is more critical to small business owners.

Knowing the difference between good and best means knowing what is needed.  What qualities are required, what needs have to be fulfilled?  You need a benchmark in your mind to know when opportunities are good and when they are great.  You also have to be realistic, while having a vision and a full checklist is good you also need to know that you will only get close to getting everything on that list.  You also have to be able to walk away from an opportunity.  Having a benchmark or vision of what the best solution or opportunity is will help, but it can still be hard to walk away from opportunities.  Remember, as a small business owner you may have to walk away from many good opportunities to be able to accept great ones.

While no one wants to give up a good shot at an opportunity saying no will leave you open for taking a great shot down the road and help you build your own world class organization.