Based in Houston, industrial services executive Michael Cox served in the U.S. Navy and also held a leadership role with Austin Industrial, Inc. Heading Bilfinger North America, Michael Cox emphasizes strategic pathways toward operational improvements. He takes inspiration from the sporting realm and explores these on the website Head Coach Leadership.
One example of a successful team rebuilding process explored on the site centers on the Philadelphia 76ers, who committed to a draft-pick-focused rebuilding effort following a franchise worst 19-63 NBA performance in 2013-14. In engineering a turnaround, the general manager employed an approach derived from Kotter’s Eight Steps of Change. This started with “creating a sense of urgency,” which was not extremely challenging on the heels of an abysmal season. However, it required finesse to “create consistent messaging” that got both management and fans on the same page.
Next, the GM oversaw the creation of a “trust the process” vision that emphasized incremental gains, one step at a time. This was promoted through various marketing avenues, from t-shirts to the 76ers’ website. In the process, the team “enlisted a volunteer army,” as it achieved buy-in from fans in the necessity of this overarching strategy.
This support proved critical, as the next two years were not encouraging in terms of wins as the 76ers trained their young talent. However, they attained “sustained acceleration” in 2017 and 2018, achieving the playoffs with 50-plus win seasons. A final ingredient was to make the change instituted stick, and the 76ers have actively managed talent strategy in ways that prevent them from repeating mistakes of the past. The end result is a team that has been at the top of their league, continuing through the 2020-21 season.
One example of a successful team rebuilding process explored on the site centers on the Philadelphia 76ers, who committed to a draft-pick-focused rebuilding effort following a franchise worst 19-63 NBA performance in 2013-14. In engineering a turnaround, the general manager employed an approach derived from Kotter’s Eight Steps of Change. This started with “creating a sense of urgency,” which was not extremely challenging on the heels of an abysmal season. However, it required finesse to “create consistent messaging” that got both management and fans on the same page.
Next, the GM oversaw the creation of a “trust the process” vision that emphasized incremental gains, one step at a time. This was promoted through various marketing avenues, from t-shirts to the 76ers’ website. In the process, the team “enlisted a volunteer army,” as it achieved buy-in from fans in the necessity of this overarching strategy.
This support proved critical, as the next two years were not encouraging in terms of wins as the 76ers trained their young talent. However, they attained “sustained acceleration” in 2017 and 2018, achieving the playoffs with 50-plus win seasons. A final ingredient was to make the change instituted stick, and the 76ers have actively managed talent strategy in ways that prevent them from repeating mistakes of the past. The end result is a team that has been at the top of their league, continuing through the 2020-21 season.
