Author, speaker, entrepreneur, and veteran basketball performance coach Alan Stein Jr. explains the 4 levels of the competitive pyramid, nature vs. nurture on the court and in the boardroom, talent vs. skills, filling the "execution gap", always keeping the spotlight of accountability on yourself, and why it’s what you do in the "unseen hours" that counts the most.

Peak Performance, ultra performer, who we're talking to

today is Alan Stein, he's been the director of performance for

pure sweat basketball, working with elite high school, college,

and NBA players doing things for like the Nike skills Academy,

the McDonald's all American game, the Jordan Brand classic,

you know, the NBA Players Association, top 100 Yeah,

that's what pure sweat does. And Allen does a lot of the

performance work, which we're going to talk about, he has

since moved into sort of the speaking world and, and doing

training and so forth. So we wanted to talk about the high

performer, you know, the habits of high performers. So Alan,

welcome to the show.

Alan Stein Jr: Hey, thanks so much for having me, I'm looking

forward to a fun conversation.

So when you think about preparing somebody, you know, to

compete in the NBA, I know one of the things that you talk

about is this sort of like pyramid concept.

Alan Stein Jr: Absolutely. I mean, for the for the players on

court, in order for a player to be the best player that they're

capable of, we look at four different components. The bottom

of the pyramid, the base, the foundation for the whole thing

happens to be my area of expertise, which is their body,

and improving their athleticism, improving their ability to move

efficiently on the court, and to remain as injury free as

possible, then we go one level up skill acquisition, you know,

doesn't matter how athletic a player is, if they can't shoot,

pass, rebound, defend or handle the ball, then it really doesn't

matter. Then we go at one more level, and we start talking

about the mind, which is two separate areas, we want to look

at one, we want to make sure a player has the mental toughness

and fortitude to compete every day. But we also want to make

sure they have a very high basketball IQ, that they know

how and when to use their skills and their athleticism to be as

effective as possible. And then the apex of the pyramid is their

heart. That's their grit, their passion, you know, their motor,

if you will. And and we found that when you can improve a

player in those four distinct areas, almost like you're

putting together a jigsaw puzzle, you'll create the best

basketball player that they're capable of becoming.

So do you start at the bottom and sort of work your way

up?

Alan Stein Jr: It is rather sequential. Now, when we say

working on their strength and conditioning in their body, when

most people hear strength and conditioning, they usually

envision a player, you know, doing a bench press or have a

barbell on their back and doing squats. That's not necessarily

what we're talking about, we're talking about improving their

coordination, and their balance, their motor control their

proprioception, just getting them in touch with their body.

And we do that with very young players. I mean, I'll do events

that have kids that are seven or eight years old, where we're

teaching them movement patterns, you know, do they have rhythm

and coordination in their feet working on their footwork, so

really just teaching them how to control their body. Because as

you can imagine, if a player can't control their body, if

they can't start and stop and jump, and land and move forwards

and backwards, they're gonna have a lot of difficulty doing

fine motor skills, like shooting and passing and ball handling.

So yes, we address the body first. And then we level up and

we start teaching them the skills of the game. And that

will be rudimentary skills. You know, here's how you make a

bounce fast. Here's how you dribble between your legs. Then

the next layer is the IQ portion, which is the teach

them. So it's one thing to know how to make a bounce pass, it's

another to know when to make abouts pass. So how do they

apply their skills and their athleticism. And then in all

honesty, and in full humility and transparency, the top the

apex in the heart, that's the one I believe that we as coaches

have the least impact on that needs to come from the players.

Now we can motivate, we can inspire, we can model the fact

that we love what we do, and we're passionate about coaching.

But at the end of the day, a player has to want to be the

best player that they're capable of. So when we get all the way

to the top, that's almost when we pass the baton to the player

and say, Okay, now how bad do you want it? We've given you the

raw materials and the tools to be as good as you can be. Now

you need to actualize it.

So do you think that the you know, I mean, I think that

gets to the question, which is irrelevant. Obviously, most of

us listening here, we're not going to probably make us make a

run at playing in the NBA. But that gets at the question of do

you think Ultra performers are made or are they born? What's

your take on that?

Alan Stein Jr: And in that in the world of athleticism, you

certainly have to be born with certain genetic predispositions

that would give you the potential to compete at that

level. And here's what I tell you On players all the time when

I say with with a friendly smile, if I'm talking to a group

of young players, I'll say, every single one of you has the

potential to make it to the NBA. However, less than half of a

percent of you have the potential to make it as a

player. And the point being that, you know, most players

that are using sports as a vehicle to learn life lessons, I

mean, they can still make it to the NBA, but they'd have to make

it as a coach, or a referee, or heck, maybe even as an owner or

a general manager. So if their goal is to make their living in

the game of basketball, and be in the NBA, I want them to go

after that with everything that they have. But the reality for

most normal human beings is they weren't born with the athletic

tools to play in the NBA. And I don't ever say that to

discourage or diminish a player, I want them to go after that. I

mean, when I was eight, I thought I was going to play in

the NBA and I went after it with everything I could. And it just

wasn't in the cards but so I don't want players to be

discouraged from going from their for their goal. But you

have to realize that a guy like LeBron James, or Kevin Durant,

those guys were born with certain tools that most people

weren't born with. However, and this is a big however, that is

not to take away from the work ethic and the habits and grit.

The players like LeBron and KD have, just because they were

born with some physical tools doesn't automatically give them

the golden ticket to the NBA. You know, Kevin Durant's, not

the only 610 guy walking around, there's plenty of them who

didn't actualize their potential, who didn't create

habits, who didn't do the things that they needed to do. So a guy

like LeBron, or KD was born with the raw materials to make it to

that level. And yet they've worked incredibly hard,

incredibly smart, and with tremendous consistency in order

to make that happen. But Spud Webb and Mugsy Bogues, and Earl

Boykins. And some of the other players that were on the shorter

side, certainly had so many other physical tools to allow

them to be able to play at that level, you know, even a ticket

player like Stephen Curry. I mean, he's one of the top

players in the game, arguably the best hitter in the game. And

when you just look at him just standing there, he looks like a

normal guy. He has a normal frame. I mean, he's a little bit

taller than the average male but you know, he, you know, he

doesn't pass the eye test the way that a LeBron James does.

However, when you really look at athleticism, I mean, Stefan

Curry was born with some some pretty good genetic hookups, I

mean, his hand eye coordination, his balance, we can't just look

at height, and one's ability to jump or run as the only

barometers of athletic success. I mean, the these guys can do so

many other things. Steve Nash is another one. Steve Nash is one

of my all time favorite players, and most novice fans would not

consider him a great athlete, because he wasn't a high flyer

or a dunker. Well, if you take all of the other areas of

athleticism, his mobility, his reaction, his hand eye

coordination, his conditioning level, I mean, Steve Nash would

right off of the charts in those other areas. So even though

Steve Nash may look like a normal guy, and he's not winning

dunk contests, he's in the upper, you know, point oh, one

percentile of the human population when it comes to

athleticism. And certainly not every player that's currently on

an NBA roster was born with just unbelievable genetic gifts, lots

of people have been able to overcome certain deficiencies,

because they had an exceptional skill. You know, I mean, if you

can flat out shoot the ball, that will make up for maybe a

lack of some natural athleticism that you don't have. And and I

would say the same is true for being a high performer in any

vocation. I mean, certainly, if you're going to be a world class

singer, it would help for you to be born with the tools that

would make it you know, make you privy to being a world class

singer. But that doesn't mean that you can't be an incredibly

successful salesperson or CEO or entrepreneur. So that's why I

love the transition from sport to business, because it's less

reliant on one's genetics and or athleticism.

So when you look over then to the business world, do you

think that that same rule applies that it's like to

compete at the highest level a bit to be a fortune 100 CEO? Is

there certain a genetic predisposition that is necessary

to make it to that level? Are you saying in the business

world, it's more of an equal playing field?

Alan Stein Jr: I'm gonna say it's both and I don't say that

to back out of an answer. I do think that there are some

inherent traits that one can be born with that will improve

their chances of being successful in that arena. Not

everyone was born you know, with the with the academic IQ of a

Warren Buffett or a Steve Jobs you know, not everyone was born

with the inherit leadership skills that some of the best

leaders like a Coach K. Duke basketball may have. So I do

think there are certain traits and talents that one can be born

with that will greatly increase their chances of being

successful. But I also think a good portion of what's needed,

our skills and skills can be developed and they're developed

through repetition. When and through training and practicing

with purpose. So I do believe it's both do I think every human

being born has the potential to be a fortune 100 CEO? No, I do

not. Do I think of a good portion of people can develop

the skills that will put them in a position to be able to hold

jobs like that.

So is there anything in common in terms of maybe the

habits that you see of the people who you go like on the

surface, you go, Gosh, that person doesn't really come off.

Like you mentioned, Steve Nash doesn't look like they have the

genetic predisposition to be doing what they're doing, or the

business world you go cast, that person doesn't really seem to

have kind of like the natural charisma to be a great

salesperson or a great leader. But somehow they rise above

that.

Alan Stein Jr: Yeah, there's two in particular that come to mind.

One, the habits and mindsets, rituals, routines, and

disciplines that they have during the unseen hours. It's

what they're doing when the proverbial cameras aren't on

that that really determines whether or not they'll be

successful. Because at some level, we all have to appreciate

the fact that our habits are a choice, you know, and our habits

are what dictate whether or not we're successful in any

endeavor. Our success is not predicated on things we do when

we feel like it, when it's convenient, or when we want to

our success is predicated on the things that we do every single

day. So the people that create incredibly strong and positive

work habits and are consistent with those are going to

outperform and out achieve most other people. And the other is

high performers. And high achievers have a relentless

thirst for development, they are always looking to get an

advantage and always looking to learn to grow to develop to

sharpen their sword, and master their craft. A friend of mine

named Michael Burke, who was a former basketball coach and is

now in the business world as well. Like he coined a term that

I love called execution gap, an execution gap is the difference

between what we know we're supposed to do. And what we

actually do. And every one of us has an execution gap. I mean,

take physical fitness, everybody knows what they need to do to

work out and to eat, right. But how many people actually do

that? That's an execution gap. But we all have it. Well, the

highest performers and the highest achievers. And for that

matter, the happiest people on the planet, have narrowed their

execution gap to almost nothing. They know what they're supposed

to do, and they actually do it. And to me, that's the big

equalizer, is what you do in the unseen hours, how bad you have

the desire to improve and get better. And if you can close

that execution gap. There's no reason why you can't be

excellent and sales are excellent as a leader, if you're

willing to work on those skill sets. And then if you take out

let's say you're born and add it to that, then you're a

superstar.

On your perspective, how do you do it? How do you get

yourself to do those things you know, you're supposed to do when

you don't feel like doing it.

Alan Stein Jr: From an accountability standpoint, I

believe that, as human beings, whenever the spotlight is off,

we're always going to revert back to bad behavior. So from an

accountability standpoint, we need to put systems in place

that always keep the spotlight on us. So for instance, if I'm

looking to change a habit, my I want to start reading for 30

minutes every night before I go to bed, it's in my best interest

to share that with as many people as possible, especially

the people in my inner circle, my family, my friends, my close

colleagues, even in today's day and age, share it on social

media, put it out there and let everyone know that this is a

habit that you're trying to establish, because now the

people that really care about you will help hold you

accountable. So tomorrow you and I are chit chat, and you say,

hey, Alan, did you do your reading last night? What did you

read, tell me about what book you're into whatever. But now

I'm going to have lots of people holding me accountable. And one

of the worst emotions that any of us can ever feel is

disappointing somebody else. So when you've put it out there,

that you're going to change this habit to a lot of people, and

they're constantly checking in with you and holding you

accountable to see if you're doing it, you know, in order to

not disappoint them. It's a way to keep that spotlight on you

and hold you to the fire while you stick with that habit. And

then the beautiful part about habits. You know, research shows

that it can take as little as 21 days, sometimes as much as six

to eight months to groove a new habit depending on you know, the

depth of the habit, but it's still a finite period of time.

So key is put systems in place to get the people that care

about you to hold the spotlight on you for say three weeks to

six months, and you'll have formed that new habit and then

you can move on to another habit that you'd like to improve.

I love it. Alan, where do you want people to go if they

want to connect with you?

Alan Stein Jr: Go to AlanSteinjr.com That's a l a n

Ste i n jr.com. And I'm also at AlanSteinJr. on all social

handles.

Well, I appreciate it, brother and appreciate you

coming on man. We wish you all the best.

Alan Stein Jr: Thank you, likewise.