Eye on Entrepreneur > The Strongest Muscle

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I have this good friend named Nick DiNubile. Dr. Nick is a team physician for the Philadelphia 76ers. I hired him for the position when I was the team’s president. One night we found ourselves sitting together in the Sixers’ training room, trying to calm our nerves. It was moments before Game 7 – the deciding game - of the 2001 NBA Division Finals against Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors, and we were pumping ourselves up for the contest. You would have thought we were playing in the big game!

From out of nowhere Dr. Nick asked, “Pat, what do you think is the human body’s strongest muscle? And you only get one guess.” Since he’s a devoted fitness nut like myself, I knew he was tossing me a loaded question. I thought that he thought that I might guess either the back or the legs as the strongest muscle. But I decided not to go with my gut, and I replied, “The heart!”

I knew that our 2-pound muscle machine pumps almost 2,000 gallons of blood in 100,000 beats a day, so its strength and importance can’t be questioned. And you have to admit anyone with a broken heart knows how painful that affliction can be. I thought I had him.

“Nope.” he replied, “Wrong answer.”

“So what is it, the back?” I asked quickly.

“Nope. And that was your second guess,” he said.

“Give me one more try, please,” I pleaded.

“Go ahead, give it your best and last guess,” said Dr. Nick.

“The strongest muscle has to be the quadriceps,” I said confidently.

“Nope. Three strikes and you’re out. It’s the tongue.”

“What?” I asked skeptically.

“Just think of what the tongue can do,” he said. Suddenly I knew where he was headed. The tongue can cut down a person immediately, regardless of their size and strength. And it can lift a person up with little effort. In fact, it can lift up an entire team of people. Just then Dr. Nick put everything in perspective when he sat on the edge of a treatment table, said nothing, and just motioned for me to listen with him. The only voice you could hear breaking the silence of the brightly lit training room was that of Coach Larry Brown in the adjacent Sixers locker room. There, moments before the biggest game of the year to-date, Coach Brown was motivating his players with a pre-game speech. His words were strong, infectious, and bound the team together as they prepared to go into battle. It’s exactly what they needed in the situation, and he delivered with force and purpose.

That night, we won the game, and the series.

Your greatest tool, bar none, is the word. The ability to direct, influence, sell, and lead people, with little more than words, is a formidable strength. Some do it with carefully chosen language; others with infectious energy. Some rely on their overpowering voice; others use a soft-sell approach. Some like to tickle the funny bone; others with emotional word pictures. But all successful individuals share a common, underlying trait when it comes to verbal communication: They’re willing to do it. They’re willing to speak up and communicate their message with a passion. They’re willing to state their ideas, views, beliefs, and opinions in a clear, concise manner. And they’re willing to repeat their vision aloud over and over and over again.

Yet you don’t need the silver tongue of Oprah, or the lofty thoughts of Lincoln, or the towering presence of Churchill to be an effective communicator. There are almost as many successful speaking styles as there are job titles. But just remember this: a couple extra decibels, a dose of passion, and the right words never hurt a message. Lee Iacocca said: “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” -- PC