PAT RILEY is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history. Perhaps he was lucky to have such excellent players, but many people have the resources to succeed and fail to do so. Pat’s ability to succeed is based on his commitment to constant improvement.

    By the end of the 1986 season, the Los Angeles Lakers had lost to the Boston Celtics, even though the players had given their best. For 1987, Pat convinced them that increasing the quality of their game by a mere 1% over their personal best would make a major difference. This seemed ridiculously small, but when twelve players increase their performance by 1% in 5 areas of skill, the combined effort would make a 60% improvement to the team. A 10% difference would probably have been enough to win the championship.

    The result was that most of the players improved their individual games by at least 5%. Success came because everyone believed it was achievable. A little 1% improvement was easy.