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Could the impact of Hanson have been less if I had attacked her more strongly and openly immediately after her maiden speech? I think not. Pauline Hanson was an accident, but accidents constantly happen in politics. A more vigorous response from me would have intensified the frustrations felt by those Australians to whom she gave a voice, and gratuitously alienated them from me — and for what purpose, other than the political benefit of the ALP? Those frustrations were bound to surface at some point and, coming as they did from many citizens whose natural political bent was Coalition rather than Labor, it would have been foolish in the extreme for me to have treated them with the contempt urged upon me by my many critics.
Lazarus Rising
John Howard
Reluctantly, I punched out the message. Name of new brand is… A lot of things were rolling around in my head, consciously, unconsciously. First, Johnson had pointed out that seemingly all iconic brands—Clorox, Kleenex, Xerox—have short names. Two syllables or less. And they always have a strong sound in the name, a letter like “K” or “X,” that sticks in the mind. That all made sense. And that all described Nike. Also, I liked that Nike was the goddess of victory. What’s more important, I thought, than victory? I might have heard, in the far recesses of my mind, Churchill’s voice. You ask, What is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. I might have recalled the victory medal awarded to all veterans of World War II, a bronze medallion with Athena Nike on the front, breaking a sword in two. I might have. Sometimes I believe that I did. But in the end I don’t really know what led me to my decision. Luck? Instinct? Some inner spirit? Yes. “What’d you decide?” Woodell asked me at the end of the day. “Nike,” I mumbled. “Hm,” he said. “Yeah, I know,” I said. “Maybe it’ll grow on us,” he said. Maybe.
We didn’t talk much about the triangle offense. And besides, it would be a huge waste to get time with Phil and use it to just geek out on nuts-and-bolts basketball. I’d ask him a question and he would circle the house for an hour before he got to an answer—but everything in between was well worth the time. As a lot of people know, Phil is spiritual. He grew up in a strict Pentecostal household—his dad was a minister—and as an adult he has been attracted to Eastern faiths and Native American religious practices. (His best-known book is Sacred Hoops.) He wrote that the team area of the Bulls’ training site was where “the spirit of the team takes form” and was a “holy sanctuary. The place where the players and the coaches come together and prepare our hearts and minds for battle.” In the time I spent with him in Montana, Phil, true to form, often mixed earthly basketball wisdom with something akin to spiritual guidance. What I took as his message was that lots of stuff was in my control as a coach, but that if I did not handle things correctly, heavenly forces would make sure I paid a price. He cautioned me that I always had to put the needs of the group first—before myself or any individual. “First and foremost, don’t underestimate the basketball gods,” he said as we sat out on his deck one of those evenings. “What do I mean by that? Here’s what I mean. You’ve been hired to make every decision that’s best for the team. If you don’t do that, you’re going to run into some godly problems.” Another thing that he left me with was his advice on my interactions with players. There were times I’d need to be tough and raise my voice—and others when I’d have to be more like a gentle parent. “I want you to imagine you got a sword in your hand,” he said. “You have one end that’s really sharp. You’re going to need to use that to prod them and get on their asses and motivate them and push them further. But every now and then, I want you to look at the handle of the sword. And that’s going to represent compassion. You’re going to have to understand where they’ve come from and what they’re going through at the moment.”
Rapture
Nick Nurse and Phil Jackson
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