The Progress of Coach K

Tom Butters saw something few did.

There was a young coach at West Point with an odd haircut and a difficult last name to pronounce — and Butters wanted him to run his school’s college basketball program.

The coach had gone a modest 73-59 in his five years at Army. His team had never reached the NCAA Tournament and had been invited to the National Invitational Tournament only once. And yet, Butters — the athletic director at Duke — decided this was the man he had to have.

Hiring Mike Krzyzewski to Duke in 1980 was an incredibly brazen move. Coach K had no roots in North Carolina and had gone just 9-17 in his previous season at Army. But Butters had supreme conviction in his evaluations and wasn’t going to let the scoreboard dictate his decision.

During his first three seasons, Coach K wasn't winning many games or friends in Durham. He went just 38-47, 13-29 in conference play. Alumni, boosters and fans alike were enraged. How could Butters at this point defend his already-unconventional hire? Why wouldn't he just admit he had made a mistake? 

Well, Butters understood the situation at Duke and recognized from the beginning that it would take time to bring about his vision. He was able to measure the progress and development of Krzyzewski in those early years by trusting his eyes and blocking out the outside noise.

One of the hardest things for us as leaders is to accurately assess progress. We often rely on financial sheets, message boards, Twitter or scoreboards to measure proficiency. But frequently, these are misleading. There are underlying factors at work that can create a false narrative that fans and boosters cling to. 

But Butters was around Coach K every day. He watched him work, he watched him teach and grow as a leader, and he understood his talents. These qualities made it easy for him to retain Krzyzewski despite the initial struggles. 

Had Coach K been a recent hire, would he have been able to stay in one place for 42 years? Would he have gone on to win five NCAA championships and 1,196 regular-season games? It seems highly unlikely. So many leaders buckle to the pressure, succumb to the moment and capitulate to the influence of outsiders.

But Butters didn't. And the rest is history. 

Coach K received a tremendous farewell on Saturday night, coaching his last home game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was well-deserved, but Butters, too, is worthy of immense credit because he long saw what no one else could — giving us a crucial leadership lesson.

Judge progress, not wins.