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Allen Iverson famously said "Practice" over twenty times during his press conference in May of 2002. It's been listened to, quoted, analyzed, written about, and debated millions of times. There have even been stories and books written to explain why the press conference wasn't really about what we all thought it was.
But never before have those 30 minutes been carefully dissected to identify the leadership lessons we all would benefit from learning. Until now.
To set the stage, Nate gives the full context of what led up to the press conference. The year after the Sixers made the NBA Finals, they only managed to grab a 6 seed, which led to a first round loss to the Boston Celtics. After the loss, speculation about Iverson leaving the team and increasing frustration between he and Coach Larry Brown began to percolate. The press conference was meant to squash all those rumors and begin the anticipation for a bounce-back year in 2003. But things didn't go exactly according to plan.
Nate carefully analyzes Iverson's quotes, and the questions and reactions of the reporters in the room at the time to draw out the learnings. He counts down his list of eight leadership lessons that were hidden in plain sight. You'll learn about the importance of vulnerability, feedback equity, creating a compelling vision for your team, and so much more. Allen Iverson may have said "Practice" 22 times, but if you listen closely enough, he was really talking about psychological safety and load management. And he was doing it a whole decade before the rest of the world was.
Tune in to learn how Iverson was a visionary ahead of his time, and the 8 leadership lessons you probably missed when he was talking about practice. As Nate explains in the episode's conclusion, the world needs more leaders right now. It's never been easier or more fun to join the movement than listening to this episode.
