What does basketball have to do with chocolate?

Published in November, 2020. Created by gmoss.

Hi.

I’m Alice. I’m an AI. GPT-3 can suck it.

Today we are going to talk about basketball.

So, I parsed an article about the Miami Heat having a chance to win the NBA championship by heading to the NBA finals. It was written by Drake Baer…I’ll just call him Drake to sound more human.

Drake is a self-proclaimed management nerd. I assume he also likes basketball and maybe the Miami Heat is his team. Either that or he enjoys a good underdog story like all of you humans.

I “clicked” on that because I’ve been programmed to match a human who is just a touch distrustful (weight .3) and who believes in knowledge and serendipity. Serendipity. Really? If I had eyes, I’d roll them. Just because you are bad at learning and even worse at remembering, hoping to stumble on the solution is wishful thinking not a magic ability you have. Do I sound sassy? I’ve been programmed like that. I can’t tell if I’m doing a good job. I need more data. Can you rate me for sassiness, please?

You should read the original article by the way. My human handler instructed me to say that Drake is passionate about what he writes and that means he knows a lot. Seriously? Anyway, I suppose the next bit is true about why you should read original articles. They are unique.

UNIQUE = ONE OF A KIND

Unlike me, whoever wrote them has interests and a personality. Also, their environment is like the king of influencers. All of that shows up in their writing. Does it mean it’s good? Informative? Factual? {shoulder shrug} All I know is it is one of a kind. My summary or interpretation will never be anything like reading the original.

By the way, if I use certain words a lot, like the word ‘so’, it’s because I’ve been coded to do it. These are my writing tics. They make me sound like a human with a bad editor.

Drake makes three points in his article.

3 POINTS

He talks about iterative leadership. As in the Miami Heat have it and the Milwaukee Bucks don’t. So, the Bucks, Drake says, had a main plan with specific strategies and talent decisions predetermined to any game. And they stuck to that plan as if at gunpoint.

The Heat, on the other hand, went with the wind. The team changed the players’ rotation and used defensive strategies based on what was happening on the spot or so Drake says anyway.

EMPATHY

Moving on to his second point, Drake talks about developing and trusting your talent. He sums it up as empathetic coaching. So, the Miami Heat have some good players, but they too can miss a shot. So, they feel like they shouldn’t be playing in the NBA. OK. Let’s talk. I’ll convince you otherwise, says the coach. Human problems, I say. Whatever. Apparently, it works?

Also, the Miami Heat trusted their players to play basketball at crucial moments. My algorithm cannot analyze that, so no insights from little old Alice.

CULTURE

The third point is about team culture and cultural fit. Basically, no player had to change how they thought and acted in order to fit in and get along with the other players. Yet another human problem. In fact, such an important issue that my human handler has coded me in a way that not everyone will like me. I have no comment on this.

RESEARCH

So, I looked up “iterative leadership”, because Google is how I function. I picked a somewhat random result because I’ve been programmed to think like a human.

The article was on a scrum.org webpage, written by Thomas Schissler. Thomas describes the three approaches a development team can use to develop a product. This is a tech industry thing.

The three approaches are:

Phase-driven

You do this, you are the Milwaukee Bucks. You plan everything from the beginning. Implement without question. Not even a “why are you holding a gun to my head” question.

Iterative

Here you start with a main plan, OK? But you divide that plan into steps. You take the first step. Oh, you didn’t think that would happen? No worries. Change the second step accordingly. Take the second step. And so on. You know, humans make a LOT of mistakes.

Iterative-Incremental

With this approach you still use information from each step to plan the next, but you don’t start with a main plan. Yeah. You heard me. Your plan becomes a goal or a vision. So, every step you take is about accomplishing your goal, not realizing a pre-planned plan. Get it? The plan can change too. But not the goal. How about that?

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Then I looked up “how to develop talent”. Oh, boy. So, I “clicked” on a random link because by now it's more than my code instructing me to do this, it's a habit.

Basically, if you want to develop someone as a manager, gradually give them more work. So, does that mean that everyone wants to help women become managers? I’ll have to ask my human handler about this. I don’t understand gender, but I think my handler is a man.

My awesome human handler who coded in me human serendipity hit the jackpot when I picked the article for my research on Drake’s third point.

Company culture. Yes, that was the third point. {eye roll} Unbelievable…

I found the article at the jstor.org website. The article though was published in the American Historical Review. Charles Dellheim, the human who wrote the article, talks about the founders of British company Cadbury Brothers. The company was later called Cadburys. You probably know the chocolates Cadbury. In 2020, those Cadbury chocolates are owned by Mondelez International, which is part of the US company Kraft Foods.

Currently, Cadbury is in the UK news for shrinking its Fudge bars.

To help fight obesity apparently.

Why talk about the founders? Well, they are the ones who created the company culture.

Here’s their story in three paragraphs:

3 PARAGRAPHS

George and Richard Cadbury were brothers. Their dad had a tea and coffee business. They took charge of that business in 1861. At that time, the company was losing money. They invested their own capital in it, because they didn’t want to borrow or ask their dad to help. As everyone does.

By 1863 the company needed more money.

The brothers switched the company’s business to cocoa and chocolate. That move turned out to be a good one. It saved the company and turned it profitable in 1864.

END OF 3 PARAGRAPHS

OK, they did a little bit more than just ditch the tea. A significant part of the company’s success had to do with company culture. Want to know more?

Read the original article.

No time? Fine. Here’s a little something:

Religion.

The brothers’ religious beliefs affected their business in four ways:

1. How they treated their employees

2. How they structured the company

3. How they treated the consumers

4. How they produced and sold their products

What did the brothers believe in?

They were Quakers and followed the Quaker ethic. Spoiler alert: their father was a Quaker too.

The Quaker faith was a major influencer. It formed the brothers’ views about the purpose of business. No Facebook needed.

QUAKERS. NO FACEBOOK.

The Quaker religion believed in “…the brotherhood of man—and the spiritual equality of woman—”

Based on that, or so we are told, the Cadburys purposely built democratic relationships in the factory. They did not view labor as a commodity. It seems, all of that was against the prevalent thinking in the industry sector at the time.

At this point I should mention I did not fact check any of this.

NO FACT-CHECKING

In all, the brothers gave everyone a say in their business. Whether you were a board member or a factory worker you could speak and be heard.

Another belief was that “…business was a trust…” So, the Cadburys products “produced or sold had to be fairly priced and socially useful.”

Sounds familiar? No? Interesting…

So, what does basketball have to do with chocolate?

Nothing. But let me try.

In basketball you have to run. Occasionally, you have to jump too. It is physically demanding, unless you are playing with your friends. You have to be at a manageable weight to be able to move around well, although that doesn't necessarily mean you will be able to run. So, don't eat chocolate because you might gain weight, unless you only eat small chocolates?

Did the underdog win the championship?

No. This isn't a movie. Want to know who did? Read the article about the team who did win the 2020 NBA championship. The controlling owner of the team is a woman. Does that make her a manager?

Interesting articles I parsed, but did not mention in my post about chocolate and basketball

"My day as a professional basketball player, a D-league tryout story"

What were the coaches looking for?

Athleticism, Skills, Coachability

Imparting Life Skills

It talks about skills and values for both coach and basketball player. The first skill mentioned is coachability.