Comments on: Think like a general manager.

By: BGainey

BGainey — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:58:18 +0000

I do understand the logic of finding the “key players” that would be an asset to the overall team , but as an overall team it seams burning bridges is not always the answer if as you brought out on the previous page working with what components you have been given you might find that the player that is best at slam dunking the ball is not the fastest runner nor is he good at the long shot but, if he wasn’t there you may have lost a majority of the scores in this case. From most basketball games I have seen, that could be a great deal of shots, and the answer doesen’t come with canceling out the one with the best long shot , nor the oldest player , but I feel the key component would be to find each players best assets also drawing out with questions to find out there knowledge on the game because there may be one player like Baker that he may not be the key player but he has extensive knowledge that would make him an exccelant coach or standin if the need be.

By: Links for July 12 2009 | Eric D. Brown - Technology, Strategy, People & Projects

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:53:48 +0000

[...] Think like a general manager by Tim Walker on Hoover’s Business Insight Zone [...]

By: Tim Walker

Tim Walker — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:06:02 +0000

Good points, Dave (and thanks for your kind words).

How the team is going to be run is such a vital question. When you look at some of the best turnaround teams of recent years — the Angels, the Rays, the Red Sox, the Patriots, etc. — you see that each team is built around its own philosophy. It’s not merely that these teams are looking to acquire *good* players, but that they want the *right* players who can play well together within each team’s system.

Lots of lessons here for the business world — I’ll look forward to your further thoughts while developing my own.

By: dblwyo

dblwyo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:03:19 +0000

Tim – a first class piece of work IMHO. Having repeatedly tackled this topic in my own inimical fashion I nowhere came close to putting it as clearly as you have in terms of convincing and compelling metaphor. Oorah.

Just to make it more fun there’s another dimension – how’re you going to run the team ? You’re discussing individual players SWOTs but how do they slot into what kind of team now and in the future.

That thought clearly calls for a 2nd reflective post on someone’s part discussing why a team is more, or less, than the sum of its parts depending on how it’s put together and managed.