Ever build a team? Ever run for Pres?

[Theresa Lee <tjoyce@mit.edu>]

My fellow listers,

We must ask ourselves, are we better off than we were four years ago? If
so, then the vote has to go to Pitino and he must stay in office to
continue the job of returning the Boston Celtics to superpower status
(note: use of word "super" in this context simply means better than all the
other powers, not invincible).  

Are we better off than we were one year ago? If so, then Pitino must stay.
If not, blame the soldiers, not McArthur! The strategy is sound, but the
soldiers aren't following orders. Nay, don't just blame the soldiers, take
them out and shoot them. Kill, kill, kill. Dismantle the army that can't
win battles and whom we know won't win the damn war. No more training for
these misfits! They must all go. They must be traded for the enemy's rank
and file who surely know how to win battles AND wars. : )

Let's not jump off the cliff too soon. 

They are young and developing. I am in the 10th year of my career; the 7th
year of my current profession. I can't believe what I didn't know even
three years ago. Certainly it took three years to learn my current
profession and another three to be good at it. I cut this team a huge
amount of slack overall. Yeah, I get frustrated. Yeah, I want them to win
and NOW, but I also try to have some perspective about real human beings
and what makes them tick. I don't expect them to go from nothing to
something in one year, two years, three years even. I do expect progress. I
have no idea where this team stood at this time last year in terms of wins
and losses (anyone know?), but I do see improvement. Sure, two steps
forward, three back...it's to be expected. 

Next time you're about to criticize the Celtics, Antoine Walker, etc. put
yourself in their shoes. Or, better yet, relate it to your own work
situation. Yeah, yeah, they get paid millions. There is a difference. But
they also sleep, eat, put their pants on one leg at a time, etc. In other
words, they are humans. How mature were you at 23, 24, 25? Mature enough to
"lead" your peers at work? Experienced enough to be the top salesman at
your company? Savy enough to be the spokesman for your company when a
crisis hit?  Ask an entrepreneur about dumb, inexperienced, youthful
mistakes and she will tell you that is what taught her success. 

This is an ongoing effort to build a team.  Let's let it happen and revel
in it when it does. I am in for the long haul. 

Theresa