Missing the Mission | Bob Knight’s Sad Legacy
Indiana University’s mission statement talks of maintaining “friendly, collegial, and humane environments,” while Texas Tech’s mentions fostering “personal development” and stimulating “service to humankind.” These two schools were Bob Knight’s most recent employers. Knight retired yesterday after a stunning successful career as an NCAA Division I men’s basketball coach. An uncompromising figure and terrific coach whose players kept their nose clean and graduated at atypically high rates, he deserves much of the praise being given him today.
He also deserves every bit of scorn to come his way. Knight was also a loudmouth and a bully, a coach who threw chairs, got rough with his players, and engaged in behaviors that ran fully counter to the ideals noted above. Indiana and Texas Tech knew full well what they were getting when they hired and retained Bob Knight, and the ultimate shame is that the coach’s boorishness drowned out the considerable accomplishments of his teams and his schools. “Collegial” and “service” are hardly the first words that came to mind when the news of his retirement broke yesterday. All success aside, is that the kind of reputation respectable universities seek?
“Missing the Mission,” a weekly commentary about nonprofits that have taken their eye off the ball, appears Tuesdays at the 501(c) Files. | 501(c)
The saddest thing to me is that many of the boys who played and were treated that way by Knight will grow up to be men who treat their business teams the way believing that it’s the way to win.
Mission statements aside, the hiring of a coach like Knight shows that the true “mission” of these schools is “win at any cost” because sports pay the bill.
Tom:
Good post and a great idea for a weekly feature.
In business, I’ve seen two distinct entrepreneurial personalities. There are those who are at war with the world and those who build a cadre of people around them who sincerely want to help them succeed.
Those at war with the world – the ones who will start their own fires to put out – DO sometimes succeed… but it’s a lot tougher when all around you are eager to see you get the comeuppance you deserve.
By the way… come over to my place (www.FranchisePick.com) when you get a moment. I’d love to get a comment from you on my post about the only real reason for owning a business is to change the world.
Many organizations publish motherhood & against-sin vision/mission/core values which do not trickle down to the hiring of key people. Hiring policies (Darlene of Interview Chatter would have more say in this area) do not include congruence of vision/mission/core values with the applicant’s attitudes, outlook, values, etc. When the hiring is for key positions with a public / client interface, great harm is done to the organization.