Committing to Continuous Improvement

Pat Riley is known as one of the most successful coaches in NBA history – not because he’s had excellent players, but because he was committed to constant improvement.

In 1987, Riley told his players it would make a major difference to the team if all players increased the quality of their game by 1 percent over their personal bests. This increase seemed ridiculously small, but when the 12 players each increased their performance by 1 percent in five skill areas, the combined effort would make a 60 percent improvement to the team. A 10 percent difference would probably have been enough to win the NBA championship.

The result? Most of the players improved their individual games by at least 5 percent. Success came because everyone believed it was achievable. The sense of certainty in pursuit of their goals made them tap even greater potential.