It’s Good To Be A Change Agent

Tonight was the first Chicago Bulls pre season game.  You may remember months ago I wrote about how Vinny Del Negro convinced the Bulls leadership to give him the job of new head coach, even though had has never had a coaching job in his life.  Nothing, not even college basketball! 

Now that the media has gotten their hands on Vinny and we’ve been able to take a peak at the Bulls’ practices, I understand better how he got the job.  He portrayed himself as a change agent. 

When Vinny interviewed for head coach, the Bulls was a team in turmoil.  They’d just come off a season that shocked and disappointed fans and sports analysts.  The team stopped responding to their then coach Scott Skiles then he abandoned them (or vice versa).  They needed a coach to come along and shake things up.  Vinny convinced them that he could do that by highlighting his coaching philosophies, which were not-so-mainstream and I believe that the Bulls organization decided to take a chance on him because of his different style. My point is that it’s not always best to try to “fit in”.

Vinny has decided that, after each practice, one of the coaches will take 2 of the players to lunch for some bonding time.  Playing up the theory that, if people believe you care about them, they’ll follow you into battle, he is taking every opportunity he can to bond with players.  Because, guess what?  It’s hard to be a slacker when you really love your boss and your coworkers. 

If you are interviewing for an organization that is struggling, don’t be afraid to flaunt your I-can-save-the-day-ness because it may be exactly what that organization needs.