The Winning Way 2.0Learnings from Sport for Managers

by Anita Bhogle

reconcile

scarcity

fissures

wreck,

conferred

erstwhile

booed

clannish,

conducive

‘The Australians know how to keep their emotions in check whether they they win or lose. Indians tend to feel the highs and lows a lot more’, he observed.

brood

allure

mavericks

stun

instinct

repertoire,

cumbersome

endeavour

frowned

affluent

mavericks

irreverence

audacious

niche

While the current thinking in business schools holds that all someone with an idea needs to succeed are focus, clarity and a good business plan, I have found that bringing together a great team that’s united by strong motivation, determination and bravery is much more important. —Richard Branson

nurtured

flock

stallion

amuck.

strenuously

cultivated

nipping

e...

bud.

Pat Riley says that good teams become great when players trust each other enough to surre...

entrepreneurial

prevail.

One of the clues to how good a team-player you are lies in how much you are willing to do for no reward, how hard you are willing to run as a non-striker or how much you are willing to push yourself to cut off a boundary or save a run.

We asked Sachin how, as a captain and senior player, he evaluated players. It came as no surprise that the ultimate team-player said without any hesitation that he rates players by their commitment, rather than their performance. He says that effort is the only thing entirely in your control and that he has no respect for those unwilling to put that in.

In their best years as a team, Pakistan were led by Imran Khan, who demanded a very high standard of team ethic. The story goes that in one of their always highly charged games against India at Sharjah, a batsman was sent out with clear instructions to go for it in the last two overs. Not having done too well in the earlier games the player was probably a bit insecure and opted to return not out rather than go with the riskier alternative of attacking and, maybe, getting out. As the players returned to the pavilion for lunch, Imran came down the steps towards the boundary rope and told the batsman loudly enough for everyone to hear, ‘You will never play for Pakistan again.’ The message was sent out as much to the player as to the rest of the team and indeed, to the opposition who were in

earshot!

This is a rare occurrence on the sub-continent an...

retel...

impromptu

ostensibly

appalled

nip

bud.

aloof,

coterie,