Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Hands-On ... - always yours

54 LEADING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
two neighborhood entrepreneurs, Joel Ferguson and Greg Eaton.
Their holdings included banks, community developments, apartments,
television stations, janitorial services, and car dealerships.
Johnson worked for them in high school. They were self-made millionaires
who really cared about the community and built affordable
housing for low-income and elderly residents. One night Greg Eaton
saw the young Magic sitting at his desk and asked him, “What are
you doing?” Johnson said, “Just seeing how it feels. One of these
days I am going to be a businessman and have my own.” 75 (Initiative,
Achievement Orientation)
A tremendous basketball talent from the outset, Johnson earned
the moniker “Magic” at age 15 after posting an exceedingly rare
“triple-double” of 36 points, 18 rebounds, and 16 assists. Johnson
led his high-school team to win the Michigan State Championship
game. He won the NCAA college championship with Michigan State
and was voted the most valuable player, was the fi rst draft pick of
the NBA in 1979, and went on to win the NBA championship in his
first year as a professional for the Los Angeles Lakers, taking home
the fi nals most valuable player trophy. The Lakers won the championship
four more times in Johnson’s 14 years as a pro under his
leadership and unselfish play. Truly, his real magic was in making
his teammates better. He possessed an acute awareness of how his
teammates played that allowed him to predict where they would be
on the court before they even got there. He enjoyed making assists
to his teammates more than his own scoring. (Leadership, Teamwork
and Collaboration)
Growing up in a working-class family in Lansing, Michigan,
Johnson’s entrepreneurial father played a crucial role in developing
leadership and interpersonal skills in young Magic. Earvin Sr. didn’t
care if Magic had starred in a victory on Friday night. He would
wake Magic up at 6 A.M. on Saturday to help him with his waste
disposal business, often in sub-freezing temperatures. After Magic
complained once about the tediousness of the work, Earvin Sr.
promptly told his son that his business was not merely about picking