Keith Harrell - CONNECT: Building Success Through People, Purpose, and Performance

I was a senior in high school, standing at the free-throw line at the semifinal game of the state basketball playoffs. The Garfield High School BulldogsAKA the Super Dogshad wiped the floor with our opponents all season, but this game had tested our mettle both physically and mentally. We were playing the Lincoln High School Abes of Tacoma, Washington, and for some reason we just werent getting the job done. Wed been behind at half-time, and with four minutes left on the clock Lincoln was up by six points.

Our coach called a time-out, and all the players went to the bench. For the first time in the season, our side felt disorganized and directionless. Coaches were arguing about strategy; players were looking at one another with disbelieving eyes. What had happened to the All-Star team that had accomplished a 220 record with such apparent ease?

Something inside me said, No way are we gonna lose this game! I stepped into the middle of the coaches and my teammates and I yelled, Give me the ball!

It was as if a bolt of electricity had shot through the group. In that one moment, the entire team remembered who we were and why we were there. We connected in a way we hadnt done the entire game. The coach looked at all of us; then he said, Okay, lets do it. Keith gets the ball. Lets go!

We ran back on that court as one team. I got the ball, shot it, and hit nothing but nettwo points. When Lincoln got the ball, we went into a 131 full court press, with me on the ball. I stole the ball, shot, kissed it off the glass, and made two more. I was in the zone. I could hear our coaches yelling encouragement from the bench. My team felt the shift in energy and pressed hard on defense. We stole the ball again; they passed it to me, and I scored once more. The game was tied.

On the next play I went up for a rebound and was fouled, crashing to the floor hard. I didnt even feel itall I knew was that now I would have two free throws to put us ahead.

Thats the moment when I found myself at the free throw line. The momentum of the game hung on these two shots. If I made them, chances were we would sweep to victory. If I missed, Lincoln would have ample opportunity to drive to the opposite end of the court and score.

I could literally feel every eye in the arena on me. The screams of the Lincoln crowd were unbelievably loud as they tried to distract me. Yet I could still make out the voices of our coaches and the other players on the bench yelling, Sink it, Silk (my nickname)! You can do it! The energy and focus that my teammates were sending in my direction were palpable. It was as if every single Garfield player, coach, and fan had their hands on my arm, guiding me as I aimed and shot.

Swish! First one, then another ball went through the net. If I had thought it was loud before, I had no ideathe Garfield fans blew the roof off the arena when they saw us go ahead. We used the remaining time to score five more points, winning the game by seven.

At the final buzzer my teammates and I grabbed one another, hugged, cheered, and high-fived as the other players and coaches from our bench ran out to join us. The Garfield High Super Dogs went on to win the state championship, and since then our victories have inspired subsequent Garfield basketball teams to strive to emulate our success.

Our achievement that day was created by an attitude of teamwork, a common purpose, unending hard work, and a dedication to accomplish our goal no matter what. But more than that, I believe the Garfield Super Dogs demonstrated one of the most vital secrets of achieving success in life: the power to connect.

In the years since that high school victorythrough college, through fourteen years as a sales executive and then corporate trainer for IBM, and for the past fifteen years as a speaker and authorI have always believed and focused my message on the importance of attitude in creating success. But through the years Ive also learned that while attitude is where it starts, connect carries attitude out into the world. Our attitude comes from our ability to connectwith ourselves, with our mission, and most important, with other people.

The subtitle of this book is Building Success through People, Purpose, and Performance. Thats because I believe that success happens only when we use our innate drive to connect to fuel those three aspects of our lives. Everyone who succeeds does so through relationships with people . Nothing in this world was ever created, built, produced, amassed, fostered, distributed, or utilized without the support of other people. The artist who paints in a studio far from all living souls depends on other people to produce her paints or canvas, to grow the food for her table, to generate the electricity that powers the lights in her studio, and on and on. And eventually her art will most likely find its way to be viewed and, she hopes, appreciated by other people.

In todays interconnected world, most businesses understand that the best way to produce results comes only through bringing people togetheremployees, customers, and shareholders. When a business connects, its far easier for that business to weather the ups and downs of the business cycle. Connected employees are more likely to go the extra mile for the business. Connected customers mean referrals and brand loyalty. Connected shareholders arent likely to file lawsuits at the smallest drop in stock price.

But to create meaningful and lasting success, people and businesses must create emotional links not only with one another but also with a strong uplifting purpose . I played basketball for all four years of high school in Seattle. The first two years I felt really connected to my teammates, and of course I wanted us to win. But it wasnt until my junior and senior years that our team connected to the strong and uplifting purpose of winning the metro-city championship. When we united around that purpose my junior year, we nailed the metro-city championship for Garfield for the first time in a decade. Our senior year we expanded our purpose to win it all: holiday, city, regional, and state. That bigger purpose transformed each player as well as the entire team. We performed far better than we ever had because we connected with one another and our common purpose.

When people are connected with a strong, uplifting purpose , superstar performance becomes second nature. And I believe that building that connection between people, purpose, and performance can be accomplished in a clear, simple fashion. When you create and sustain the power to connect, your success is not only possibleit is virtually guaranteed.

I n my career as a sales executive, corporate trainer, and professional speaker, I have spoken with a lot of people in every kind of industry and company. Im always asking them, What kind of training do you need? Why do you want me to speak to your group or come to your company? And because Im known as Dr. Attitude, the answer is almost always the same: Our folks need to improve their attitude.