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Help the Helper: Building a Culture of Extreme Teamwork
"The "real "lessons of teamwork don't happen on camera. They happen behind the closed doors of locker rooms and team meetings and practice facilities. Kevin and John open those closed doors. All you need to do is get reading!" --Larry Bird "Help the helper" is a basketball motto preached by some of the sport's legendary coaches, including Dean Smith and Phil Jackson. All good players know they should support a teammate who's under pressure. But the true greats know how to take it one step further. They fill the gaps left behind when one teammate goes to help another--gaps that are often far from the bas-ket and out of the spotlight. The true greats step up in quiet ways to make sure no subtle holes develop on defense and no opportunities are missed on offense." ""Help the Helper "will show you how to put this level of teamwork to work in "your "business, to build a cul-ture that recognizes and rewards those who help the helper--even when they don't have sexy statistics. In the process, it will teach you how to de-emphasize the CEO/quarterback/superstar and effectively redefine leadership. You'll learn, for instance, how to: Create a dynasty of unselfishness. Manage energy, not people. Eat obstacles for breakfast. Act like an "unleader." Consider how it works in the hospitality industry. In a great restaurant you don't have to wait for your server to check on you; your needs are taken care of instantaneously, sometimes before "you "notice them. Everyone from the busboy to the maitre d' has one goal: the success of the team. Such coordination seems complicated for a small eatery, nearly impossible for a large organization. But it's easier than you think. For a combined forty years, Pritchard and Eliot have focused on building high-performing groups. They've crushed Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000-Hour Rule, logging upward of 50,000 hours studying the factors that create champions and dynasties, from the NBA and Major League Baseball to the Fortune 500. Exhaustive testing, scouting, and evaluating have taught them that truly special teams in all fields have one common denominator: a willingness to do what-ever it takes to help the helper. Drawing on true and inspirational stories from sports to medicine to business, "Help the Helper "shows what's behind the curtain that fuels great team performance.
- GenresLeadership
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2012
20 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 21, 2021
This book was not what I thought it would be, although it did have some good stories in it.
Based on the description on the front flap, it sounded like the idea of Help the Helper is that when someone on a team steps in to help someone, that person leaves their own duties unattended, so a great team is the kind that is aware of this and can backfill the space left by the helper - like coordinating the chain so that "hole" is always covered, no matter how far back in the chain. I thought this was an interesting concept, so I picked up the book.
What I got was (essentially) a book on what makes great sports teams great. I had no clue who either Kevin Pritchard or John Eliot were when I picked up the book, but it turns out they both live and breathe pro sports, particularly basketball and baseball. Unfortunately, I know approximately nothing about these sports. While I do enjoy reading about perspectives of other people whose lives are very different from mine, this book was so intensely focused on these sports (with a few other peppered in here and there for good measure) that I sometimes had a difficult time following what was going on. On occasion I wasn't even quite sure which sport they were talking about, never mind the nuances they were trying to express!
That said, I did appreciate some of the stories they told about exceptional teams or exceptional individuals - who rallied their teams to victory not through being showy superstars, but through their selflessness, cheerfulness, dedication, and humility. They also talked about a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that an individual can have to truly make (or break) a team - something that can be completely invisible in all their stats, and that is something to be attuned to when selecting team members. Really important stuff, and quite fascinating to read about.
However, the intense and almost exclusive focus on sports got to be a bit too much, since it was meant to be a business book. ("Help the Helper will show you how to put this level of teamwork to work in your business..." - from the front flap) The authors are so immersed in the world of sports that everything looks like a competitive sport, with the goal to win. Almost every modification they proposed to the business world (even non-sports businesses) seemed pinned on adding sports, such as using a challenging pick-up basketball game to determine whether the person you're interviewing has the right stuff for the job.
This book also made me think of Simon Sinek's Infinite Game , which suggests that many problems in business are caused by seeing business as a win/lose game instead of an ongoing venture. In a similar vein, I feel they completely overlooked environments and personalities that can be incredibly restorative and supportive of others, but that would not thrive with this kind of competition.
Overall, I am happy I read this book, but it is probably best suited for those in the specific environment in which this book originated - namely, organized sports. If you manage a sports team, this is definitely the book for you. Otherwise, it might be interesting and there are inspiring stories here, but I would also take it with a grain of salt.
Based on the description on the front flap, it sounded like the idea of Help the Helper is that when someone on a team steps in to help someone, that person leaves their own duties unattended, so a great team is the kind that is aware of this and can backfill the space left by the helper - like coordinating the chain so that "hole" is always covered, no matter how far back in the chain. I thought this was an interesting concept, so I picked up the book.
What I got was (essentially) a book on what makes great sports teams great. I had no clue who either Kevin Pritchard or John Eliot were when I picked up the book, but it turns out they both live and breathe pro sports, particularly basketball and baseball. Unfortunately, I know approximately nothing about these sports. While I do enjoy reading about perspectives of other people whose lives are very different from mine, this book was so intensely focused on these sports (with a few other peppered in here and there for good measure) that I sometimes had a difficult time following what was going on. On occasion I wasn't even quite sure which sport they were talking about, never mind the nuances they were trying to express!
That said, I did appreciate some of the stories they told about exceptional teams or exceptional individuals - who rallied their teams to victory not through being showy superstars, but through their selflessness, cheerfulness, dedication, and humility. They also talked about a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that an individual can have to truly make (or break) a team - something that can be completely invisible in all their stats, and that is something to be attuned to when selecting team members. Really important stuff, and quite fascinating to read about.
However, the intense and almost exclusive focus on sports got to be a bit too much, since it was meant to be a business book. ("Help the Helper will show you how to put this level of teamwork to work in your business..." - from the front flap) The authors are so immersed in the world of sports that everything looks like a competitive sport, with the goal to win. Almost every modification they proposed to the business world (even non-sports businesses) seemed pinned on adding sports, such as using a challenging pick-up basketball game to determine whether the person you're interviewing has the right stuff for the job.
This book also made me think of Simon Sinek's Infinite Game , which suggests that many problems in business are caused by seeing business as a win/lose game instead of an ongoing venture. In a similar vein, I feel they completely overlooked environments and personalities that can be incredibly restorative and supportive of others, but that would not thrive with this kind of competition.
Overall, I am happy I read this book, but it is probably best suited for those in the specific environment in which this book originated - namely, organized sports. If you manage a sports team, this is definitely the book for you. Otherwise, it might be interesting and there are inspiring stories here, but I would also take it with a grain of salt.
July 21, 2023
CU fencing! Go lions! 😻😻
February 6, 2019
This is one of the few management-type books I've given a second read. I did so because the stories and tips stuck with me and I wanted to review and refresh my thinking on this.
On the one hand, much of what the authors suggest is intuitive if you are an empathetic person who knows that business is about more than the financial bottom line.
On the other hand, it helps give depth to questions such as: how to implement such an approach at the organizational level? What does that actually mean? What are some questions and specifics to bear in mind as you engage colleagues on the quest to make an organization (or a team, or an initiative) exhibit Help the Helper traits? For this, the book is a great resource.
Accessible, personable and sometimes even fun, this is a solid read for anyone in a position to collaborate with others who wishes to do so in a joyful and impactful way.
On the one hand, much of what the authors suggest is intuitive if you are an empathetic person who knows that business is about more than the financial bottom line.
On the other hand, it helps give depth to questions such as: how to implement such an approach at the organizational level? What does that actually mean? What are some questions and specifics to bear in mind as you engage colleagues on the quest to make an organization (or a team, or an initiative) exhibit Help the Helper traits? For this, the book is a great resource.
Accessible, personable and sometimes even fun, this is a solid read for anyone in a position to collaborate with others who wishes to do so in a joyful and impactful way.
February 1, 2017
This is one of those books that I would recommend to any new coaches teaching the game on a high school or college level. Shaka Smart, the basketball coach of the Texas Longhorns recommended it and I dove into it head first looking for the "white peacock" when it comes to coaching. Awesome read...bottom line is to build a culture where the guy who is two steps away from the center of the action is happy.
April 2, 2017
Awesome read for team sports
I love how far from the statistics it got. Some of the things they provide shed light on a lot of the downsides of bad teammates, and how to help teach and motivate to get more good teammates. A lot of ideas on how to move forward with the things in here. I like how they have an end of the chapter question so you can really figure out how to incorporate it,
I love how far from the statistics it got. Some of the things they provide shed light on a lot of the downsides of bad teammates, and how to help teach and motivate to get more good teammates. A lot of ideas on how to move forward with the things in here. I like how they have an end of the chapter question so you can really figure out how to incorporate it,
May 7, 2013
If you like sports, this book might be for you. I kept hoping for some non-sports analogies, but they were so few and so far between. The underlying ideas are good, but I realllllly don't care about sports at all, so this book was not for me.
Read
December 12, 2012Got half through. Had to return to library. Will finish some other time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews