Unless You Know the Score, You Can Never Win (Hint: Here’s What Jeff Bezos and Michael Jordan Would Say the Score Is)
The scoreboard is never right until the end
“Games are won by players who focus on the playing field ‒ not by those whose eyes are glued to the scoreboard.”
— Warren Buffett
Most people want to win. And they keep score — not just in sports, but in everything.
They want more money, more time, more “things”.
And it is easy to keep track of who has the most. We can just tell, right?
Is my house bigger than my neighbor’s?
Who’s grass is greener?
Who’s car is more expensive, or newer?
Who makes more money?
Who goes on better vacations?
What type of watch or necklace am I wearing?
Who works later?
Most people can mentally track how they are doing compared to other people.
They keep “score” based on how looks thing on the outside. They pick and choose which scoreboard they will look at — and then that “scoreboard” will either motivate or give comfort.
But this is the wrong mentality if you are striving for excellence — and aiming to be the best.
Stop looking at the scoreboard to figure out what the score is.
There is a better way. You do not need to look at anything.
. . .
Rookie, What’s the Score?
“You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.”
— Michael Jordan
When the Chicago Bulls dominated the National Basketball Association in the early 1990s, the veterans played a game on the younger players.
It was a harmless prank — and maybe a little like hazing — but it served to set the tone for the entire team. The veterans asked a simple question that set the expectations for the team: we are going to be the best all of the time, not just some of the time.
Former Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong described what the veterans would do.
During a game, a veteran player would ask a younger player one question:
What’s the score?
If the player gave the wrong answer, the young player had to pay a fine to the other players.
It is not hard to figure out the score of an NBA basketball game. You just look at the scoreboard. But if the younger player even looked up, they failed.
For the Bulls, there was only one right answer.
The game was tied. 0–0. Both teams had zero.
If the young player said the actual score of the game, that was the wrong answer. The veterans wanted to set the tone for the entire team.
Every play matters.
No plays off.
You play the same way at the beginning as at the end.
Every game is close.
Even though we are ahead now, there is no guarantee that we will win the game.
It’s not over until we win.
Don’t get sloppy once you are winning.
Stay focused until the job is done.
Winning is a habit.
Your play does not depend on what the score is.
Excellence is the standard.
Play the opponent, not the scoreboard.
You have to prove yourself not only every day, but every play.
The game starts now.
Who started this? Where did this come from? Why did the Bulls taunt their young players like this?
One man set the tone: Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan demanded the best because he wanted to be the best. He set the expectation as soon as a new player joined the team.
The score is 0–0.
Every.
Single.
Play.
The 0–0 mentality gave Michael Jordan and the rest of the Bulls team an advantage.
The next play mattered ‒ just as much as the very first one.
The score is 0–0. Always.
. . .
It’s Always Day 1 at Amazon.com
“As always, I attach a copy of our original letter 1997 letter. It remains Day 1.”
— Jeff Bezos
I just read a shareholder letter from Jeff Bezos — it was incredible. I wrote an entire article about what I learned from the letter itself.
But I also learned something amazing from the last line of the letter.
“As always, I attach a copy of our original letter 1997 letter. It remains Day 1.”
Of course, Amazon.com has come far from the day of Jeff’s first shareholder letter in 1997. But it is amazing that with all of Amazon’s success, the leader and Chairman of the Board uses his last line to remind all of his shareholders that today — over 20 years later — is Day 1.
Jeff Bezos is reminding everyone that his company started by binding itself to certain principles. And then sticking to those principles and rigorously following them until success arrived.
Day 1 is the beginning. But it is also the time when you have the most excitement, belief, and energy.
For Amazon.com and Jeff Bezos, it is always Day 1. Every single year he reminds anyone who will listen:
As always, I attach a copy of our original letter 1997 letter. It remains Day 1.
. . .
Summary of the Principles from Day 1 at Amazon.com
“But this is Day 1 for the Internet and, if we execute well, for Amazon.com.”
— Jeff Bezos, from the 1997 Letter to Shareholders
So what did Jeff Bezos actually write about on Day 1 at Amazon.com?
He laid out the principles that he was going to build an empire on:
It’s all about the long-term
Obsess over customers
Build infrastructure
Set a high bar for the team
Apparently, he has stuck to them. And intends to stick to them forever.
Do you see why it is always Day 1?
. . .
Write Your Future Letter
“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”
— Ray Kroc
What would happen if you had a letter that you revisited every year? Or more often?
And what if that letter served as a reminder of the principles and guiding vision of where you wanted to go and how you want to get there?
What if your vision was so strong at the beginning that it guided you for the rest of the journey?
If the letter from Jeff Bezos inspired you, as it did me, then will you join me in writing your own Day 1 letter?
I am working on it now. And when it is done, I will use it to guide me and anyone else who joins me on this journey.
I suggest you do the same.
Day 1 is today.
Next year, it will remain Day 1.
Twenty years from now. Day 1.
And if someone ever wants to know the score, you will not even need to look at the scoreboard.
You know what the score is without even looking.
0–0.
. . .
Learn the one lesson that has changed my life more than any other.