Spring is here, and March Madness is upon us. NCAA’s annual college basketball tournament has over 20 million people completing a bracket each year with the hopes of winning a company challenge, competing with friends, or displaying their basketball knowledge.
Just like many others, my bracket busted on day one. The unpredictability of March Madness seems to increase with each passing year.
One thing that is certain if you watch the NCAA tournament every year is your knowledge of the song — “One Shining Moment”.
“The ball is tipped, and there you are
You’re running for your life
You’re a shooting star and all the years
No one knows just how hard you worked
But now it shows…
(In) One shining moment, it’s all on the line
One shining moment, there frozen in time…”
March Madness is more than just an exciting basketball tournament. Pay close attention and see the multiple success stories created each year by teams that the vast majority projected as an underdog.
While this negative stigma is enough to stop or intimidate some teams, with proper planning, strategizing, and execution, any team can win on any given night.
Instead of giving up and accepting failure, these underdogs dug deep, planned hard, persevered, and shocked the world on the national stage, making NCAA history.
We can learn a thing or two from these underdogs, so here are a few lessons we can take away from March Madness.
The tournament has shown us that practice, preparation, sacrifice, determination, and hustle make a difference.
Take Kentucky senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe, for example. He had one of the greatest rebounding games ever, pulling down 25 boards in just 33 minutes of play.
Oscar accomplished this with hours and hours of training in the gym, understanding the angle of missed shots by watching game film, and pure determination.
We should go into every InDemand project with the same ambitions and determination as Oscar.
The best teams aren’t considered the best because of one good day at work. The best teams consistently show up and give their best effort, provide support, and bring positivity and a great work ethic to the workplace each day.
The NCAA tournament hosts all kinds of upsets from teams that had no business being in the tournament in the first place.
Fairleigh Dickinson is a school that lost its conference championship but still made the tournament because its rival, Merrimack, was ineligible.
The school then played #1 seed Purdue in the first round and made the most of their situation. Fairleigh Dickinson was outsized, outmatched, and considered the loser before the game began.
The Fairleigh Dickinson players heard all the news reports writing them off and used this to fuel their determination.
The team prepped, prepped, and prepped some more for their juggernaut of an opponent, and wouldn’t you know it, for the second time in tournament history, a 16-seed shocked the world by beating a 1-seed!
Planning and preparation are not always the most fun activities, but both are necessary for the success and growth of any team.
Spend time and effort with your team each shift to prepare your upcoming tasks for the week and communicate your daily responsibilities.
Team meetings build chemistry and trust, keep everyone on the same page while holding everyone accountable for their tasks, promote better team communication, lower stress levels, and increase confidence and productivity.
Effective teamwork shows itself each year on teams that roster veteran collegiate players who use their leadership skills to will their teams to victory.
Drew Timme of the Gonzaga Bulldogs is a three-time consensus All-American and has reached the Sweet 16 all four years he attended the college.
Personal accolades aside, Drew couldn’t have accomplished this feat without the help of his teammates.
Our We Before Me core value states, “Great results are achieved by working together with collaboration and cooperation,” and this is a value we should live by each day.
If you’re ever in a workplace dilemma, ask for help! Our teammates often have skillsets we don’t, and they can help in areas you aren’t so good at.
Working off a teammate’s skills and knowledge is a great resource and way to collaborate. Together, you can create practical and helpful solutions for any workplace conflict.
Placing our trust in our teammates elevates productivity and fosters more effective teamwork. Trust is a powerful tool that can create high-performing teams.
David Barrett wrote the song “One Shining Moment” in the spring of 1986 due to a failed attempt to win over a waitress after watching Larry Bird highlights at a bar.
His explanation of Larry Bird’s greatness got him nowhere, but the following morning, Barrett, still inspired by Bird, scribbled the lyrics for “One Shining Moment” on a napkin in 20 minutes while waiting for a friend to meet him for brunch.
This song is now played every year at the end of the tournament to summarize March Madness, and it is all thanks to one failure, alongside inspiration from the one and only Larry Bird.
As another March Madness makes its rounds in 2023, remember that even if you’re a 16-seed, with the right preparation, attitude, and determination, your team can be one that’s filled with winners.
Written by Byron Graham, Director of Support Operations
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