One year ago today, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and seven others died in a helicopter crash. This tragedy shocked world and unleashed an outpouring of love, respect, and sympathy for both father and daughter. When the deaths were made public, I published the article 20 Life Advice And Leadership Lessons From The Mind Of Kobe Bryant. To show the love for Kobe, this finished as my seventh most-read post of 2020.
Since it is exactly one year since the tragedy, I want to give tribute and look at Kobe’s legacy – specifically his work ethic and Mamba Mentality.
In my book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders, I discussed his legendary, even maniacal, approach to practice. You can purchase my book by clicking HERE or on the image provided.
The following is an excerpt from the book detailing Bryant’s work ethic:
“One Apex Leader who is most associated with hard work is former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant. After retiring from the game in 2016, his 20-year illustrious career included 5 NBA Championships, 15 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Defensive team selections, two scoring championships, 18 All-Star games, four All-Star Game MVPs, and the 2008 league MVP. Bryant finished his career with 33,643 points – the third highest total of all-time.
His work ethic is so legendary it is partially credited with dissolving his relationship with fellow superstar Shaquille O’Neal. Appearing on the September 3rd, 2015, edition of The Lowe Post podcast, Lakers beat writer Howard Beck said, ‘A lot of their differences, where they ultimately couldn’t get along, had so much to do with all these other things like Kobe is maniacal about the game, perfecting the game, working on his game. He’s a workaholic. He’s as singularly focused as anyone I’ve met in any walk of life. And Shaq is not.’
Beck added, ‘Trying to squash your own impulses, your desires, your goals over and over, year after year, especially when it’s because you’re playing with someone who maybe doesn’t treat the game as seriously as you, nobody treats the game as seriously as Kobe does.’
To get a deeper sense of Bryant’s work ethic and what is needed to be an Apex Leader, writer Baxter Holmes analyzed his pre-game workouts in an April 11, 2016 ESPN.com article.
As I read about Bryant’s preparation and approach to his career, I learned what it means to work hard.
Bryant arrived to the arena four hours before tipoff to work on his craft. Hard work requires arriving early. One of the best pieces of career advice I received as a young man was to arrive to work 15 minutes before you are required and stay 15 minutes longer than you are scheduled. If you are willing to put in 30 extra minutes per day, you will be ahead of 80-percent of the general workforce. I immediately put this into action, and this free advice was worth more than I could ever imagine.
Hard work requires doing the lonely work. This is the work few people are willing to pay the price to do. Apex Leaders work hard when no one is looking. Only ushers and a few others were in the arena four hours before the game when Bryant took the court to practice pre-game. When questioned about this, Bryant said, ‘It’s very peaceful. It’s very quiet, and you get a chance to be in your space and in your element and hear the ball bounce, hear the sound of the net or the rim.’ No one is there to applaud the lonely work, but everyone applauds its results.
Hard work focuses heavily on fundamentals. Apex Leaders master the basics of their craft. Bryant began by making 15 to 20 shots with each hand, standing just below the rim. Then to work on his midrange game, he moved systematically from one baseline 15 fee from the basket to the wing. From there, he moved to the foul line and then on around the court. He normally made 15 to 20 shots at each spot before moving on.
Hard work is necessary to get in your 10,000 hours. If you are not familiar with the The 10,000 Rule, you must read Malcolm Gladwell’s classic book, Outliers. Gladwell theorizes that to become an expert (Apex Leader) in anything, you must put in 10,000 hours of practice prior. Bryant is an example of this. Lakers assistant coach J.J. Outlaw said, ‘The same moves that we see him do within the game, I can’t tell you how many times he practiced that exact same move – pump-fake, jab, cross-over, one-dribble pull-up – in the last five years. It’s been thousands of times.’
What I noticed about Kobe’s practice habits is hard work is done from the inside-out, not the outside-in. Most successful leaders primarily focus on what is inside them – like character and integrity – not just what people see. Bryant’s shooting drills are actually a metaphor for life.”
And that is Kobe’s legacy. His work either and Mamba Mentality became a metaphor for life. This metaphor for life became a symbol for an entire generation of athletes who followed him demonstrating the price you needed to pay to be a champion. And a champion he was.
What do you remember most about Kobe?
My non-fiction book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase. If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you! By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you. This book is not to be read alone. Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence. Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.