“What Would Shaq Do?” is an outgrowth from a previous post. Bob Sullivan, who is consulting with an inner city school, applied the idea with a boy who was pushing in the cafeteria line. As the principal was then attending to other students, Bob began talking with the student—who has a difficult home life—and found out that he liked basketball and that Shaquille O’Neal was his favorite player.
Later when teaching the staff about “Impulse Management” using the traffic signal poster, he used Shaq as a model to choose a good option when agitated.
Shaquille O’Neal is a professional basketball player in a league that has the greatest athletes in the world. He is a big man, seven feet-one inch tall and weighs 330 pounds. He is very strong but agile, possessing a variety of athletic moves around the basket.
But what makes him special is his attitude on the basketball court. This combination of skill and attitude makes it almost impossible for the other teams to keep him from scoring. Opposing players hang on his arms and hit him in the face and neck as they swing wildly, attempting to make him miss the shot.
How does this superstar react to the rough play? A few years ago some teams planned a strategy to stop him called the “Shaq Attack.” Because Shaquille is not a good free throw shooter, their idea was to foul him every time he went up for a shot.
WHAT WOULD SHAQ DO? Before every game he considered his options. He could get angry. He could hit back. He could push defenders away with one hand and shoot with the other. But all of these options would hurt his team by getting him in foul trouble or thrown out of the game. So he made the decision to stay in control and focus on making the basket even though he knew he was going to get fouled hard. He also decided to look at himself and work extra hard to improve himself and become a better free throw shooter.
The “Shaq Attack” is not used anymore because one man stayed in control and became the victor in a situation that could have kept him and his team from becoming champions.
So when things don’t go your way and you start blaming others or are about to make a poor decision, ask yourself, “WHAT WOULD SHAQ DO?”
More information on this topic is available at http://marvinmarshall.com.
