Success secret: Measure your hustle

As coach of the New York Knicks, coach Pat Riley wanted to fire up his team. The team kept the usual stats on scoring, assists, rebounds, and the like, but one year Riley decided to begin measuring hustle: how many rebounds players went for even if they didn’t succeed; how many times a player would make an extra effort to snatch up a loose basketball; how often someone would make a grab in a steal attempt.

Riley posted his “Hustle Stats” in the Knicks’ locker room after every game. Without any additional comment on his part, so the story goes, Riley’s players became a top-level team.

Focus on results, yes, but keep an eye on your level of effort to reach the top.