Judging Talent By What You See, Hear, And Understand (Fast Company On Rich Cho)

[ABM]

http://www.fastcompany.com/1677664/judging-talent-by-what-you-see-hear-and-understand

Rich Cho is one of a new breed of general managers in the NBA. With a background in engineering as well as law, Cho is regarded an executive who can balance the need for talent on the basketball court with a need to balance the books. Tighter economic times have hit professional sports with a vengeance so club owners need executives with an eye for talent as well as the bottom line.

As the chief executive for talent for the Portland Trailblazers, Cho integrates a balanced approach to his own player evaluations, which he told The New York Times requires him to use his "eyes, ears [and] mind." Cho explains, "The eyes are the in-person scouting, the ears are all the background work you do on a guy and trying to get intel about his work ethic and what's he like as a person, and a numbers approach is the analytical portion."

Cho's talent assessment technique is applicable outside the world of professional sports. Too often recruits are hired, or employees and managers, promoted because they either present well in an interview or make the numbers at work. Creating a favorable impression is critical so that is why Cho's more holistic approach works. Let's break it down:.................

 

[HailBlazers]

Article by:

"John Baldoni: an internationally recognized leadership development consultant, executive coach, author, and speaker. In 2010 Top Leadership Gurus named John one of the world's top 25 leadership experts."

 

[BGrantFan]

I've read more articles about how great Cho will be as a GM than I ever read about Pritchard while he actually was in charge of drafts and was the GM.

Wow me, Rich. Your press credentials are overwhelming at this point. Will the actions back up the words?

 

[RoyToy]

Cho this, Cho that

Do something to earn some of this praise. I'm tired of hearing about this guy already.

 

[Rhal]

Cho this, Cho that

Do something to earn some of this praise. I'm tired of hearing about this guy already.

He doesn't need to do anything but eat the cake Pritchard baked and he will have done his "job".

I gotta say if this guy doesn't do some big move i'm gonna be disappointed just because of all of this hype he is getting.

 

[BGrantFan]

He doesn't need to do anything but eat the cake Pritchard baked and he will have done his "job".

I gotta say if this guy doesn't do some big move i'm gonna be disappointed just because of all of this hype he is getting.

No doubt. The guy has been handed consecutive 50-win teams, the former GM flipped the roster over 50% in those years, yet he managed to keep all of the best assets. He added very good players in Andre Miller and Marcus Camby while giving up basically nothing in return.

There is no learning curve here. Do something to improve the team before camp, or we're still in "baking the cake" mode. Win NOW!

Unless, of course, he thinks the team is good right now, and will win if healthy. In that case, why was the old GM fired?

 

[RoyToy]

He doesn't need to do anything but eat the cake Pritchard baked and he will have done his "job".

I gotta say if this guy doesn't do some big move i'm gonna be disappointed just because of all of this hype he is getting.

Yeah, it's borderline annoying how much press he is getting when all he has accomplished is landing a job with an excellent roster that another excellent GM put together.

I really don't care how he orders at restaurants, his little computer software, etc. I'm still as unimpressed as the day he was hired until he does something.

 

[MickZagger]

He's cerebral? He doesn't need to make a move on a whim to prove anything to the fanbase. With a young team that is yet to be fully healthy and as deep as the Blazers are do we really need to make a move just to make one?

I'm willing to bet he wasn't hired with the intentions of making moves just to put his stamp on something. I'll let it play out a little before I want his head.

 

[Pinwheel1]

He doesn't need to do anything but eat the cake Pritchard baked and he will have done his "job".

I gotta say if this guy doesn't do some big move i'm gonna be disappointed just because of all of this hype he is getting.[/QUOTE

Yeah, it's borderline annoying how much press he is getting when all he has accomplished is landing a job with an excellent roster that another excellent GM put together.

I really don't care how he orders at restaurants, his little computer software, etc. I'm still as unimpressed as the day he was hired until he does something.

Well after the media went out of their way to imply that Blazer management absolutely fucked up their off season by firing the GM, his right hand man, half of Nates staff, during a crutial period when LBJ and CP3 were available! All this turmoil was just horrific!

Then when they finally realized that maybe, just maybe, it just didn't make any difference at all. OOOOOPs. Lets build up Cho instead.........we can tear him down later.

 

[jlprk]

You guys are blaming Cho for Quick's trivial articles.

 

[BGrantFan]

You guys are blaming Cho for Quick's trivial articles.

This article wasn't by Quick.

 

[Nikolokolus]

You guys are blaming Cho for Quick's trivial articles.

He's being blamed for not being KP

 

[jlprk]

I really don't care how he orders at restaurants, his little computer software, etc.

They were talking mainly about Oregonian articles, not the OP article.

 

[DUB]

In the N.B.A., the New Boss Isn’t the Same as the Old Boss

A growing number of executives running N.B.A. franchises incorporate knowledge about what happens on the basketball court and in the courtroom, while others bring advanced college degrees to their work. Together, they have created what the Portland Trail Blazers’ owner, Paul Allen, termed “the new generation of N.B.A. executives.”

Rich Cho, the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, is among a new class of N.B.A executives who did not come from the traditional pool of candidates.

Lon Babby was an agent before becoming the Suns’ president of basketball operations.
Allen hired Rich Cho as his general manager earlier this month. A day later, the Phoenix Suns introduced Lon Babby, a prominent agent, as their president of basketball operations. Both Cho and Babby pursued law degrees before delving into basketball full time. Cho started as an intern with the Seattle SuperSonics 15 years ago.

Neither Cho, 44, nor Babby, 59, claims to have all the answers for success in the league. But their legal backgrounds could serve them well in those moments when the basketball court and the courtroom intersect, particularly in arbitration cases. They should certainly come in handy when the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which expires after next season, is renegotiated, requiring a new encyclopedia of details, many of them highly nuanced.

With some N.B.A. teams staggering economically, there is a heightened emphasis on an executive’s ability to allocate resources properly.

“You use that background and knowledge to help you make trades, in contract negotiations,” Cho said. “That’s one thing where it helps me and Lon.”

This even appeared on the main page of a newspaper website Down Under; which unless an article contains something about an Aussie player, is completely unheard of.

Cho has a loooong reach.

 

[Minstrel]

He's being blamed for not being KP

And praised for the same by others. The irrationality around KP goes both directions. Look no further than the various memes that KP, when he didn't make a trade, was (combined) a timid pussy who couldn't close deals and was too in love with his players. While Cho, in not making a deal, is being rational and analytical and simply must not have been offered enough.

For many, the battle lines have long been drawn on KP and until Cho makes moves to start a new "era" in terms of the front office, he'll be a proxy by which people continue to fight that battle.

 

[maxiep]

Gang, it's summer. People will write about anything to fill space. Our new GM is as interesting a topic as any right now.

 

[ABM]

Gang, it's summer. People will write about anything to fill space. Our new GM is as interesting a topic as any right now.

It Cho thing..............do what you wanna do......................

 

[Nikolokolus]

And praised for the same by others. The irrationality around KP goes both directions. Look no further than the various memes that KP, when he didn't make a trade, was (combined) a timid pussy who couldn't close deals and was too in love with his players. While Cho, in not making a deal, is being rational and analytical and simply must not have been offered enough.

For many, the battle lines have long been drawn on KP and until Cho makes moves to start a new "era" in terms of the front office, he'll be a proxy by which people continue to fight that battle.

I'm probably one of those people who thought KP had fallen too in love with some of his players and while I don't think he was a "pussy" or timid, I do think he struggled to close deals (but I loved the Blake + Outlaw for Camby deal) -- whether that was due in part to incompetence, an over cautious nature, or the fact that there were no good deals to be had, or for none of those reasons. In the same vein if you're going to fire KP and replace him then I like the Cho hiring in principle, but I have no thoughts one way or another about his competence as a GM (yet); we'll have a better idea once he actually has any moves (or non-moves) to judge him by.

 

[ABM]

I'm probably one of those people who thought KP had fallen too in love with some of his players and while I don't think he was a "pussy" or timid, I do think he struggled to close any deals --- whether that was due in part to incompetence, an over cautious nature, or the fact that there were no good deals to be had, or for none of those reasons...........

I think "let the cake bake" was effectively an euphemism for, "These guys of mine are young. I want to be absolutely sure they've had a chance to develop and/or blend with the system before I take a potentially premature risk in letting them go in a trade, etc."

 

[BGrantFan]

I think "let the cake bake" was effectively an euphemism for, "These guys of mine are young. I want to be absolutely sure they've had a chance to develop and/or blend with the system before I take a potentially premature risk in letting them go in a trade, etc."

What is interesting to me is that Sam Presti seems to be in "cake baking" mode in OKC. That team has obvious deficiencies in the front-court, and also in terms of an established veteran to take pressure off of Durant, yet nothing outside of drafting a long-shot in Cole Aldridge was done to address those needs. In Bizarro Land, I wonder what the posters here would say about OKC's summer if the the Thunder were actually the Blazers. An 8th seeded team that had virtually no injury problems does basically nothing to improve its areas of weakness.

 

[OddEnormous]

I've read more articles about how great Cho will be as a GM than I ever read about Pritchard while he actually was in charge of drafts and was the GM.

Wow me, Rich. Your press credentials are overwhelming at this point. Will the actions back up the words?

BANG

FUCKING

ON

 

[andalusian]

I believe the movie quote "Cho me the money" is what the forum is collectively saying.

 

[OddEnormous]

Look no further than the various memes that KP, when he didn't make a trade, was (combined) a timid pussy who couldn't close deals and was too in love with his players. While Cho, in not making a deal, is being rational and analytical and simply must not have been offered enough.

I laugh myself silly at this very "meme" right now.

Also enjoyed everyone telling me how smart Cho is. Bloody fucking hell.

 

[Masbee]

Yeah, it's borderline annoying how much press he is getting when all he has accomplished is landing a job with an excellent roster that another excellent GM put together.

I really don't care how he orders at restaurants, his little computer software, etc. I'm still as unimpressed as the day he was hired until he does something.

So, let me get this straight:

If a new person gets a ton of good press to start, THEY are the scumbags for not having already lived up to other people's expectations?

Jesus H, some of the posters on this board are fucking unreal. Wouldn't be happy if happiness kicked them in the ass.

 

[BBert]

Gang, it's summer. People will write about anything to fill space.

Exhibit A: http://sportstwo.com/forums/123-Portland-Trail-Blazers

 

[RoyToy]

So, let me get this straight:

If a new person gets a ton of good press to start, THEY are the scumbags for not having already lived up to other people's expectations?

Jesus H, some of the posters on this board are fucking unreal. Wouldn't be happy if happiness kicked them in the ass.

? No one in this thread has said Cho is a scumbag. Not sure what you're trying to do there.

People are tired of all the fluff articles proclaiming this guy to be a genius when he has done absolutely nothing. Show us something first.

Until that happens, I'm still unimpressed by the hire.

 

[HailBlazers]

some of the posters on this board are fucking unreal. Wouldn't be happy if happiness kicked them in the ass.

So True.

Also enjoyed everyone telling me how smart Cho is.

Nobody's talking to you Californian.

People are tired of all the fluff articles proclaiming this guy to be a genius when he has done absolutely nothing. Until that happens, I'm still unimpressed by the hire.

I see what your saying, but its only been a month. Us Blazer fans didn't get to interview him so I appreciate all the articles revealing more about the man, while he may not be a genius it is easy to see through the articles the man is highly intelligent

 

[OddEnormous]

Nobody's talking to you Californian.

Brilliant. (as usual)

 

[OddEnormous]

So, let me get this straight:

Fail

 

[OddEnormous]

be a genius it is easy to see through the articles the man is highly intelligent

I couldn't care less. There are millions of highly intelligent people. Some who don't even ask waiters what the special is.

Larry Miller must be going ape shit right now.