The Invisible Employee: Using Carrots to See the Hidden Potential in Everyone, Second Edition

3.1. THE SEE-ER

3.1.1. Modern See-ers

Today's See-ers don't see the future. They create the future, by seeing people.

The late Cotton Fitzsimmons, former coach^[] of Phoenix Suns basketball team, had that ability. He had a genuine interest in his players—and they could sense that.

He was the kind of guy who would facilitate counseling for players with money problems or marital disputes. He gave advice when he was asked and correction when he saw a problem—on the court or off. He was a man of principles and was an example for others. In fact, in the 1960s when racism was still a way of life in parts of the United States, he took an unpopular vocal stand and refused to eat at his favorite restaurant that had denied service to several of his African American players.

Former Phoenix Suns player Eddie Johnson recalled, "Cotton was the closest thing to a father to me as one could get. He was a guy who wasn't just a coach. He was the only coach that was really interested in your personal life."

And that ability to care for people was transforming. Not just for the individual players but for the whole Suns organization, which had certainly been struggling—finishing with just 39 wins the season before he took over. (The next year, under Fitzsimmons's direction, the same team won 48 games.)

"Players got caught up in how enthusiastic and positive he was, and he made them play better," said Jeff Hornaceck, another former player. "I'll never forget one of the first years we were in the playoffs, ...