Next Play

LinkedIn Comments

Mike Krzyzewski is the head coach of the Men’s Basketball team at Duke University since the 1980s. This blog post is about how his words became an unofficial mantra to Jeff Weiner (CEO of LinkedIn) and the employees at LinkedIn.

Everytime the basketball team would complete a shot and run back, CoachK would yell to the team - Next Play. It is a phrase that he uses to remind the team to not linger too long on what had just taken place. It is to remind the team that the past had gone and it is time to focus on the present - irrespective of what had happened. It is to remind them not to celebrate too long on the lovely 3-pointer. It is to remind them not to complain or lament about the missed opportunity. It is to remind them what matters most is now.

Take a moment to celebrate your past victories and learn from your past mistakes but don’t linger too long on it.

At LinkedIn, after a feature or a product is launched or after a post mortem analysis of a bug or when an employee completes a Tour of Duty at the company, it is common to hear this phrase.

Next Play!

Next Play!

Kaushik Rangadurai

Code. Learn. Explore

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