[Flash] Win the Week (Mentoring from Stephen Curry)

When Stephen appeared as a guest on the SmartLess podcast recently, the hosts reflected on the team’s enduring success, posing this thoughtful question: 

How does a team that has appeared in six finals and won four championships in the last nine years sustain its drive season after season? 

And like a mentor, Stephen offered a fresh perspective and a valuable strategy:

“If we don’t win a championship, it’s a failed season for us because of the standard. But you can’t just show up and say that. There must be a level of detail for how we approach the year.

“We have to win the week – that’s what we call it. This gives us a singular focus – we must have a weekly winning record.

“That’s how we get the bite-sized motivation for the 9-month journey. We seek little bits of celebratory moments. When we go 2 (wins) to 1 (loss) in a 3-game week, we say, ‘Yeah! We did that!’

“It might sound strange for a team that has won four championships, but it keeps us in the fight.”

Win the Week!

1. Tackle weekly mini-goals in pursuit of an audacious, aspirational goal
2. Create a singular focus
3. Combat overwhelm by climbing molehills, not mountains
4. Seek celebratory moments
5. Work on excellence, not perfection.

For the Warriors, “Win the Week” does not equate to being undefeated. Instead, the aim each week is to win more than lose.

How could we leverage Win the Week? 

• When Stephen King writes a book, he aims for 1,000 words a day.
• When I biked across the country, I aimed for 50 miles a day.
• For specific sales quotas, aim for 500 calls and 500 emails per week.
• For managers committed to 100% retention, aim for five recognition emails and three 1:1 meetings each week.
• For certain health goals, aim for five intense workouts per week and seven hours of sleep per night.

Setting audacious goals is not the challenge. It’s sticking with them that topples the best of aspirations. 

On the literal and proverbial court, championships don’t happen unless we first Win the Week.

© 2023. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved.