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Five Reasons for the Lakers’ Horrendous Season

Posted: May 3, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Any basketball fans out there are well aware of how terrible the Lakers have been doing this season. It’s true that all teams have their ups and downs, but just what’s been going wrong for the Lakers lately?

Let’s take a look at five factors that are negatively impacting their performance:

1. Ownership philosophy has changed.

The legacy of a team can only stay the same if the new owner (in this case, Jim Buss) continues building on the legacy that the former owner left behind. Consider the case of the New York Yankees: In 2008, brothers Hank and Hal Steinbrenner were left with the ownership of the team after the death of their legendary father, George Steinbrenner.  They didn’t use their new power and ego to come in and change the direction of the team, though; instead, they listened to the team’s leaders and continued their father’s legacy. This strategy brought a World Series win to the city of New York, which had gone nine years without one.

The Lakers have a totally opposite story.  When placed in the same situation, Jim Buss has decided to emphasize spending money on players while disregarding the importance of spending money on coaching.  When it comes to managing a team with as much ego as the Yankees or the Lakers, coaching is a vital aspect.  But instead of taking a run at getting Phil Jackson, Buss fears that Jackson would have more influence over the team than he himself and therefore goes with Mike D’Antoni.  I firmly believe that if anyone would’ve had a chance at pulling this team together, it would’ve been Jackson.  Let’s not forget that Jackson knew how to deal with Rodman, Shaq, Kobe, and Jordan, all players with big egos.

That’s why I put the new ownership as the biggest problem the Lakers have had to deal with in 2013: Ultimately, Jim Buss is the final decision maker for the Lakers.  His insecurity has gotten the best of him, which has kept him from making the best decisions for his team.

 2. Three philosophies in three years.

It’s very difficult to get a group of players to rally around one philosophy of playing, let alone to rally around three different philosophies in as many years. Talk about annoying! From a triangle offense to the defensive mindset of Coach Brown to D’Antoni’s completely opposite offensive philosophy, the Lakers have had the rug pulled out from beneath them time and again. That’s like your parents changing their religion three times in three years!  It’s a very confusing situation, one that makes it tough to create any kind of momentum.

3. What does Howard need?

I remember clearly saying that what LeBron needed was a strong mentor, as well as the desire to strengthen his emotional and mental abilities. His emotional and mental toughness have definitely increased ever since he began to be mentored by Pat Riley, who encouraged him to start reading.  That not only developed his mind but also got him to realize that he had to both focus on his game on the floor and (more importantly) learn to control his imagination; if he allowed his imagination to run wild, he would develop anxiety, which would in turn impact his performance.  Once he learned these lessons, he started handling himself better under pressure.

That’s exactly what Howard needs.  He needs a strong mentor who won’t take his crying and won’t just feel sorry for him, someone who will encourage him to learn to ignore the noise (as Bill Belichik used to say).

As far as Howard’s fundamental game is concerned, he has four areas that need attention:

  • For a guy his size, he sure has some of the worst hands I’ve ever seen.  I’m flabbergasted when I see him mishandle as many passes as he does.  The problem is a lack of focus, and that’s something that can be worked on.
  • He needs to make his move faster when he gets down low in the post.  He takes too much time when he gets the ball in the post, which negatively impacts his performance.  He’s got the right footwork to develop into something really special, if he puts his mind to it.
  • Free throws are an issue for Howard. I don’t expect his accuracy to get to 80%, but he needs to work on getting it to at least 70%.
  • There’s nothing wrong with being silly off the court like Shaq or Jordan, but it’s not acceptable during the game. When you’re a professional, you need to learn the difference between being on the court and off the court. It’s quite annoying when someone doesn’t take their profession seriously, especially someone who has the capacity to become one of the greatest centers of all time.

4. Kobe’s leadership.

This year, Kobe showed more leadership than he has in his whole career. Although we caught glimpses of his ability to run the offense and although he averaged ten assists per game, his natural desire to shoot didn’t allow him to perform like this consistently. Another great one is coming to the end of his career.  I’m just really curious to see how Jim Buss will handle this situation.  His treatment of the end of Kobe’s career could hugely impact the fans.

5. Believing the worst.

A positive mental attitude is a huge factor in life and sports alike. The Lakers unfortunately allowed their imaginations to run wild: They believed they were far worse than they actually were this season, which meant their performance suffered.

Let’s not forget that Howard got to the finals without any major players on the Orlando Magic team.  But when the Lakers started really believing they were terrible, despite their talent, they lost the game before it even began.

Get ready for a potentially whole new look in 2014!

In the 2014 season, the Lakers will no longer be predictable because their ownership philosophy has changed. It’ll be interesting to see if Jeanie Buss and the family will be able to knock some sense into Jim over the summer; that’ll be the deciding factor when it comes to the fate of the Lakers. Hopefully the team will recapture its excitement, or else they’ll probably be losing Mitch Kupchak to another team because of Jim’s attitude and behavior.

Fortunately, I don’t yet hold any ownership over the Lakers. So while all this is fascinating—and while I love basketball—so far none of this will directly influence me and my loved ones. Still, I hope to see these issues addressed so the team can get back to being great.

Slash Joins Pat Backstage

Posted: February 1, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Episode #12 of 2 Minutes With Pat: After a cover of “Sweet Child of Mine” at the Rio in Las Vegas, Pat leads us backstage to remind us that although sometimes in life the world tends to make us conform, instead we can choose to be ourselves.

Is a four-year degree too slow for today’s speed?

Posted: March 27, 2012 in Uncategorized
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This past week, I had the opportunity to speak to students from Mark Keppel Magnet School and Toll Middle School on the topic of ”Doing the Impossible,” and I walked away so impressed with both programs. Loreta Noubarentz introduced me to the audience of students, parents, and teachers, and Principal Mary Mason of the magnet school finished by talking about the importance of imagination. I was deeply inspired by Principal Mason’s encouragement to kids to constantly use their gift of imagination to create things that we have not yet seen.

At the end, several of the students and parents told me about Principal Bill Card of Toll Middle School and how he runs the school. They shared a variety of stories about him, from his firmness with the students to his sense of humor that has helped him connect with the students to create a movement called 850. One of his students told me how Principal Card came to her class one day and pointed at her to follow him to his office. (I can only speak for myself, but anytime I was invited to the principal’s office it wasn’t for doing something right!) He than asked this student to make a big smile while holding a sign with the number 850 on it. A few days later the students saw that the entire entrance and the walls of the school were filled with pictures of students holding the 850 sign and smiling. Eventually the students figured out what 850 stood for: It was the average score Principal Card wanted the entire school to have on their California School Test, also known as the CST. I was so impressed that a principal so creatively brought the students together in the cause of increasing the average score. Too many times the media is only focused on teachers who don’t do a good job; and while I’m sure there are plenty who don’t, instead I would like to applaud those teachers who do an outstanding job raising the future of America.

This blog isn’t just about that, though. I want to know if self-education is actually moving people along faster in their lives and careers than a four-year degree. Just recently I was hosting our Vistage group meeting at our headquarters, where some of my friends who are CEOs and presidents of their own companies come to have our monthly meeting. In that meeting the conversation turned to what it took to be a software engineer in today’s world.  It was interesting to hear that a student, after two years of working on his four-year degree to be a software engineer, needs to start all over again because everything he learned in the first two years has already changed. The reason for that is that things are changing so quickly today. You’ve heard the commercials that joke about new computers coming out more and more quickly; well, they are no longer just joking. I just bought my iPad 2, and the iPad 3 just came out last week. I just bought my iPhone 4s, and now the iPhone 5 is coming out. Software and tools are changing so quickly, as are methods of communication. In light of all this, it may be time to question our method of providing a degree for students nowadays.  Do they really need to go to school for four years, or can the same things be accomplished in two years or even one intense year? More and more students are starting to drop out before the four-year marker because they are in a hurry to get their careers started, not necessarily because they’re bums and drop outs.

Another issue with the four-year degree is that it’s putting many parents in a tough situation financially to have to cough up anywhere from $15,000 to $80,000 per year for school. Many of them are taking out money from their own retirement account to pay for a four-year degree. Our current system is creating an environment of dependency to kids. I understand there’s a certain level of prestige in earning a degree with from a good school, but we’re not living in the same time as we did thirty years ago or even ten years ago.

I hope this blog gets read by the right people in the educational system who have the courage to start considering innovating the current system. I’m a firm believer that the kids are much smarter than we think they are. I predict that very soon we will have a thirty-six-year-old President of United States. After all, multi-billion dollar companies are being run by twenty-five year olds, and it has become very common for baby boomers to take advice from twenty year olds in technology. Age is slowly but surely becoming a non-factor.  But I think our educational system can speed up the process of transferring the most updated knowledge to students at a level that matches today’s speed. Any of us with today’s tools on the internet can learn how to use Adobe Illustrator CS5.5 and call ourselves a graphic designer. We simply didn’t have access to that kind of information when the four-year degree was created. In response to these changes, our educational system needs to undergo major innovation; if it doesn’t, we will see a surge of private universities that provide four-year degrees in a twelve month period. We’re sitting on a goldmine with these young kids who are just waiting to create things that you and I thought we would only see in movies. We think of the internet as one of the greatest inventions, yet it is nothing close to what these kids can create with today’s conditions.

My challenge to you is to start having these conversations with the principals at your schools and with your children. I do believe there are people who are willing to listen and do something about it. Let’s make the future bright

Part Two: The Three-Legged Stool:One Leg Short for Those Earning $250,000 and Up

Posted: March 6, 2012 in Financial Fundamentals, Uncategorized
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Part Two: The Three-Legged Stool:

One Leg Short for Those Earning $250,000 and Up

In the first installment of our “Three-Legged Stool” series, I mentioned that $250,000 seems to be the current inflection point for the definition of “wealthy” in the United States, given recent political rhetoric.  In the ongoing debate in this country over how to help shore up our federal, state, and municipal finances in the wake of the financial crisis, those making over $250,000 a year have become the target of discussion where potential tax increases are concerned.

Since that first article was written, more specific plans have been shared with the American people, specifically within the 2013 proposed budget that the Obama administration released in early February. Let me share some highlights of that proposal, as they relate to taxes on the “wealthy”:

  • Allow the top two marginal income tax rates—currently 33% and 35%—to revert to their pre-2001 levels of 36% and 39.6%.
  • Change tax rates on investment income for the wealthy, by raising the long-term capital gains—currently 15%—to 20% on those making more than $200,000 ($250,000 if married filing jointly), and  calling for dividends to be taxed as ordinary income for upper-income households. 

For those who live in big cities and/or on the coasts, you are all too aware of the fact that this kind of income, while healthy, does not necessarily make one “rich” given the high cost of living in these areas.

Nevertheless, given this $250,00 income number as a starting point, recall that in my first installment of this article series I thought  it might be instructive to see what kind of challenges a household at or above this level of annual income faces with regard to accumulating enough resources to help sustain a comfortable retirement.  To help illustrate those challenges, the first article looked at Social Security in the context of the classic three-legged retirement stool, pointing out its relative shortcomings in preparing the “wealthy” for adequate future retirement income.

In this, our second installment in the series, I will examine in similar fashion the second leg of the stool:   Personal Savings. This includes Defined Contribution plans like the 401(k) plan and its non-profit cousin, 403(b) plans, and to a lesser extent individual retirement accounts, annuities, and other vehicles designed for personal asset accumulation objectives.

Part 2:  Personal Savings: Defined Contribution Plans

For those earning in excess of $250,000 a year, the defined contribution plan is a good start but not nearly adequate to the task of helping accumulate enough wealth for this cohort’s future income needs. Two numbers bear mentioning when trying to understand the special challenges that the affluent face with regard to defined contribution plans being a major portion of their future retirement income: $17,000, and $5,500.

But first, let’s start with just a bit of history. The 401(k) plan has now been in existence for over 30 years, having started in November of 1981. Many employers now offer it alongside or in place of a traditional defined benefit pension plan. (Those who want more history on these plans can check out this helpful link from the Investment Company Institute, celebrating 25 years of the 401(k) back in 2006: http://www.ici.org/pdf/per12-02.pdf.)

But back to our numbers, $17,000 and $5,500. $17,000 is the maximum contribution amount in 2012 that an employee may defer on a pre-tax basis to a 401(k) plan, regardless of income. The second number, $5,500, is an additional contribution amount that those age 50 and over are permitted to make on a pre-tax basis; commonly, this is known as a “catch-up” contribution.

Let’s put those numbers in context. If you are making, say,  $300,000 a year in gross income and are over age 50, your total 401k pre-tax contribution can’t be any more than $22,500 in 2012. While that is a tidy sum to set aside, in percentage terms it amounts to only 7.5% of gross income. Does anyone reasonably think you can set aside less than 8% of your income per year to adequately prepare for retirement?

To that point,  American General conducted a simple calculation back in 2010 that assumed one had essentially done “everything right” with regard to maximizing their 401(k) opportunity going back to 1987, when the 402(g) limits (pre-tax deferrals) into 401(k) plans were established. The findings indicated that the total amount that one would have accumulated in a 401(k) plan over time, despite taking full advantage of the plan limits, was far less than necessary to support the retirement needs of the affluent—well under a million dollars. In fact, the amount of lifetime income that even one million dollars will buy a 65 year old couple today is depressingly small relative to those who have lifestyles built on years of six-figure working incomes.

The Upshot: We’ve now reviewed the shortcomings of two of the three legs of the retirement stool. On deck for our next installment in this series is Defined Benefit Pension Plans.  Once we’ve reviewed those plans and their shortcomings, we’ll discuss opportunities for a “fourth” leg of the stool that may make sense in helping address the unique challenges of this affluent group.

Is Mission: Impossible Possible?

Posted: January 3, 2012 in Uncategorized
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With 2012 now here and New Year’s resolutions made, it’s now time to ditch the conventional and decide to do the Impossible.

Have you ever questioned why we’re told to play it safe in life? Why do we look for the predictable path of least resistance? It’s a mentality that leads many people to avoid risks and to instead pursue a career with a safe salary with secure benefits. But when’s the last time you got excited about a movie where the story line was about being safe? No one is making a movie called Mission: Typical.

We love movies about inspirational heroes taking risks and overcoming extraordinary challenges. Here’s a link to the IMDB list of the top 250 most voted-for movies of all time; look it over and see if you notice a trend.

Most people have never truly explored the side of themselves that’s filled with an incredible capacity for greatness—the kind of greatness that movies are made about and books are written about, that we accepted as possible when we were children. Throughout our lives, we are told over and over again to play it safe and be conservative. When we follow this advice, we end up living a life that’s like a movie no one wants to watch. Instead of living our passion and overcoming challenges in our own lives, we go to the movies and watch stories about other people reaching their dreams and doing the impossible.

So my question to you as we start the New Year is why not direct your own life’s movie? Why not go for it?

That’s the idea that inspired me to write the book I’ve been working on for the last three years: Doing the Impossible: The 25 Laws for Doing the Impossible.  I didn’t want to write a motivational book that’s like all the others out there online and in book stores. This book may challenge your beliefs and conventional wisdom, and yet all of the advice and anecdotes are the absolute the truth. The book is controversial at times but applicable to anyone who makes a decision to do the impossible.

It’s a simple 160 page book that you can finish in a few hours. Each chapter has specific instructions and assessment exercises to guide you along the twenty-five point roadmap for Doing the Impossible. If you’re someone who wants to make 2012 the beginning of the greatest years of your life, this may be the book for you.

Amazon has a pre-sale price on their website until the 16th of January with 33% off at $11.99 for soft cover and $6.99 for Kindle.

Make Mission: Impossible Possible in 2012.