Interviews: Dale Brown and Mark Eaton
Building the Bakken Radio Episode 2 Segment 4: Teamwork in business and community. Host Jason Spiess interviews Dale Brown and Mark Eaton.
Former NCAA head coach and current motivational speaker Dale Brown grew up near Berthold, North Dakota. Two days before he was born his “so-called” father left his mother and two sisters right before the “frigid winter of 1935.” Brown’s father “never wrote, called or sent money,” so his mother had to get a job as a “domestic, go on welfare and move into an apartment above a bar and hardware store.” He said that mother was a great teacher and an example around the house.
When asked how people used to view North Dakota when he was coaching at Louisiana State University, Brown cited two examples. First people would say South Dakota. Second people would say “Mee-Not” instead of Minot (My-Not). Brown then recalled the “biggest eye opener” from when he was coaching in the NCAA Final Four. During the press conference a question was raised about whether it was a tremendous advantage to coach in the Finals after working with legends at Duke, Kansas and UCLA. Brown said after the other three coaches answered the question, the media proceeded on. This prompted Brown to raise his hand and ask, “Isn’t anyone going to ask me a question about playing at Minot State Teachers College playing under Herb Parker?” He added Alaska was not all that popular until the gold rush, the same with South Dakota. Brown concluded the question by saying “anyone who hasn’t heard of North Dakota is either in a coma or died yesterday because it is in the news all the time.”
When asked about his views on the importance of longevity in an organization he stated it is vital yet near impossible to achieve in today’s environment. Citing “immediate gratification syndrome,” Brown said John Wooden would have been fired at UCLA if he was coaching in modern time. It took Wooden 13 years to reach the Final Four and according to Brown, too many administrators and fans would have been too greedy for victory. Brown added too many are not concerned about the character that’s going on in the program and would have fired Wooden long before his successful run as one of the most successful coaches in NCAA history.
Citing the example of North Dakota State University woman’s basketball coach Amy Ruley, who attributes longevity within her coaching staff as one of the chief reasons for her success, Host Jason Spiess asks how important is longevity within an organization. Brown said he knew Amy and said that is a profound question and statement. He continued by saying you need “a strong leader with a good ethical background, that sees that it takes time to build a program, and then when you build the program you are going to have ups and downs.”
Former Utah Jazz center and NBA All-Star, Mark Eaton spoke of his recent speaking engagement in Dickinson, ND at an Economic Summit sponsored by Five Diamonds Industrial Park. He addressed leadership within an organization and said it was interesting to see the private sector, nonprofit, government workers and other industries work together and bounce ideas off each other to fix some of the issues in the oil patch.
When asked about the importance of longevity in an organization, Eaton used a sports metaphor: the Lakers, Celtics and other great organizations had a central core that stayed together. He said that allows a system to be built while the people learn to work with each other and play off each other. Eaton continued to say that in today’s world it is too corporate and people are to busy climbing on top of each other trying to get ahead. He said the ones who understand the concept of teamwork – if the team wins you win – those who take that attitude “generally have a much happier culture within their organization.” He said the culture within your organization will have a direct impact on your bottom line and your organization’s success.
Leave a Reply