JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Three podcast recently saw none other than the NBA chief commissioner appear on Episode 183. While the two talked about a range of topics, Redick eventually wanted to know how Adam Silver managed his time. The 61-year-old talked about a piece of advice that was given to him by Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, years ago.
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Claiming that he loved each and every aspect of his job, Reinsdorf talked about how he initially wanted to be the person who responded quickly to people on email. However, once, when Reinsdorf saw him “hemming and hawing,” he decided to advise Silver on time management.
Reinsdorf told Adam Silver that “no was the second-best” answer, and that he must not be afraid to refuse people quickly.
“In terms of my time, what I enjoy so much about my job is that I love every aspect and I remember Jerry Reinsdorf years ago, the owner of the Chicago Bulls he asked me to do something and I was heming and hawing. He stopped, he said Adam, I am going to give you some advice. He said, ‘No is the second best answer,” Silver said.
Moving on, Silver talked about how saying no could be helpful for the person asking as well, and that it was a trick that was common in time management techniques. “Part of time management, one of the tricks is learning when to say no and saying no early because it actually helps the person who is asking you as well,” he said.
Finally, Silver talked about how it was important to not let the inbox run your life. “I also find that creating discipline where your inbox does not run your life. I always wanted to be that guy that gets back fairly early to people on email and I am learning I can’t necessarily be that to people.” Silver said.
While the NBA Chief Commissioner himself initially wanted to be the guy who responds quickly to people, the extent of his job means that he cannot be that person. Silver went on to talk about the kind of support that he now gets from his colleagues, claiming that answering emails had become a part of his work that he mostly delegated to others.
Jerry Reinsdorf was supportive of the decision to make Adam Silver NBA’s Chief Commissioner
Silver became the NBA’s 5th Commissioner back in February 2014 after spending 8 years as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer. One of his first major decisions came in April, when the NBA banned former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the league, for life.
The decision was met with pushback from various sections but the Chicago Bulls released a statement in support of the decision. In a joint statement, Reinsdorf claimed that Silver had made the right decision, according to CBS.
“We completely support Commissioner Silver’s decision today regarding Clippers owner Donald Sterling and praise him for his prompt investigation and action. The commissioner was correct to ban Mr. Sterling from all official NBA business, to levy the stiffest allowable fine, and we will support his recommendation to press for Mr. Sterling to relinquish his ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers franchise. We believe Commissioner Silver’s decision reflects the best interests of the NBA and public civility,” it read.
The statement went on to claim that the reprehensible nature of the controversy surrounding Sterling meant that his presence could not be tolerated in any form. Hence, in addition to Reinsdorf supporting Silver long before he became Commissioner, he appears to have supported him since the appointment as well.
