Larry Bird turned 50 yesterday. He is one of my heroes. Not because his Celtics won 3 NBA titles including one over my Lakers. Not because he was a three time NBA MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Medal Olympian and a Hall of Famer on his first year of eligibility. Larry Bird is one of my heroes because of the extraordinary things he did off the court. One of my favorite Bird stories is that he only went to post-game press conferences when the Celtics lost (which wasn’t all that often during Bird’s tenure). When they won, he liked to let the other players bask in the limelight. Imagine one of the best players who ever played the game avoiding the opportunity to take credit for his contributions.
When Larry Bird came out of retirement to coach the Indiana Pacers, the New York press ridiculed Bird, speculating that he would be a disaster as a coach. Not I. I knew better. As a player, he constantly lead by example. He worked harder than just about any player and never stopped trying to get better. In addition to his offensive prowess, he was incredible on defense, stealing the ball 1,556 from players who undoubtedly thought they were quicker, smarter and certainly better looking than Bird. His teammates looked to Bird not only to hit the clutch shot but also to encourage nothing but 100% effort. Ask Parish. Ask McHale. They will tell you he made them better players. As a coach, he brought his incredible work ethic with him and inspired a group of decent players to excel beyond any analyst’s expectations. When one of his players showed up late at the airport, he simply told the pilot to leave anyway. Legend has it, that player was never late to anything again. If you are thinking that inside every great player is a great coach, think again. One need look no further than Isiah Thomas to know that skill on the court does not necessarily translate into talent on the sidelines or in the back-office. Isiah is an unmitigated disaster both as a GM and a coach (it is no wonder that Bird’s first act as GM of the Pacers was to fire Isiah!) Pardon my digression but Isiah Thomas is the antithesis of Larry Bird. I’ll save that rant for another blog.
So what does Larry Bird have to do with Marketing for Good? Well, quite a bit actually. Larry Bird engaged his teammates and even on occasion taunted his opponents. He once told one of his opponents the exact spot where he would hit the game winning shot and proceeded to do exactly that! Larry Bird never stopped trying to improve his game. Constantly enhancing your product is a fundamental principle of Marketing for Good. Larry Bird truly understood the game of basketball. Even though many of his opponents were quicker, he seemed to have preternatural ability to anticipate which way they were going to move enabling him to steal, block or take a charge. Marketing for Good is typically built on a keen understanding of the competition and zigging when others zag, creating the opportunity to enlighten. While Bird’s play wasn’t all that entertaining for opposing teams and their fans, perhaps only Jerry West was more clutch when the game was on the line and only Magic Johnson could execute the “no look” pass more elegantly. Marketing for Good embraces entertainment, especially that of the humorous nature. And finally, Larry Bird was inspirational to fellow players and fans across the country. Larry came from a poor family with an alcoholic father who committed suicide when Larry was about to enter college. Bird told Sports Illustrated that growing up poor, “motivates [him] to this day”. Larry has inspired many a young athlete and a few of the older variety, like me.
Happy Birthday, Larry Bird!