On Monday night, the Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup in the team’s history, capping an amazing 16-4 playoff run. Sports offer great lessons to learn in life, and this is no exception. Here’s what the Kings can teach you:
All slumps end.
In 1967, the NHL expanded from six teams to twelve. The Los Angeles Kings were one of those teams, and since they joined the league, they have never won the Stanley Cup…until now. Every Kings team assembled had tried to end the drought; even Wayne Gretzky couldn’t get the Kings over the hump. This year, the team finally got it done.
How it applies to you: When you get into a rough spot at your internship, remember that things can (and often do) change. If you’ve screwed something up, or you’re just not having a good week, remind yourself that things are going to do get better and they will!
Just because you’re perceived as the weakest doesn’t mean you are.
The Kings were an 8 seed in the NHL playoffs. That means that in the playoffs, they were statistically perceived as the weakest team in their conference. But to get to the Stanley Cup Finals, they had to beat the top three seeds in their conference. What was even more amazing was that they went 12-2 against those teams. At the end of the day, nobody could view them as a weak team.
How it applies to you: Interns over the years have gotten a bad rap as a whole. No matter how awesome a job an intern does, the field is always going to be stereotyped as “those who grab coffee and make copies”. Your abilities got you your internship in the first place- make your talents known. You are much more powerful than you think!
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish!
Lately, this has been the motto for sports in general. The New York Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Los Angeles Kings all barely squeaked into their respective leagues’ playoffs, and they all ended up winning championships. It doesn’t matter that they barely won half their games- they got in, and they won. Years down the road, history remembers these teams as champions, not how they got there.
How it applies to you: Sometimes, we get internships and jobs where we get paired off with another new employee. Sometimes we get paired with a slacker, sometimes we get paired off with someone dim, and sometimes, we even get paired with “that guy”. You know him- graduated from a prestigious school, 4.0 GPA, was president of every possible student club in the book, and his uncle just so happens to be the guy that hired you in the first place. Okay, maybe not all that, but choose two. Pay no mind to anybody’s credentials (or lack thereof). A new job environment can change people for better or worse, and at the end of the day,
your standing within the company should be the only one you care about. Who knows- your hard work and valuable input may put you in line for a great job with your company.
Surround yourself with the right people.
The Kings went through a coaching change and made a lot of trades throughout the season. When the trade deadline passed, they had to believe that the team was good enough to achieve major success. Their individual belief strengthened the belief of the team as a whole, and they achieved greatness.
How it applies to you: Your team, obviously, is made up of those who you choose to surround yourself with. Like the Kings, you may have to add some people to your roster, and you may have to get rid of the ones that just aren’t any good for you- the latter is much harder than the former. However, when you start building positive relationships with positive people, you develop a symbiotic relationship that reaps awesome rewards. These people are great references, they come to you when they need trusted people for projects, and when they transfer to another company, they may just plant your resume on top of the stack when a good job becomes available.
When you want something bad enough, you have to do the dirty work.
Being an 8 seed in the playoffs is not a desirable place to be. It meant that the Kings wouldn’t have home-ice advantage in the playoffs. They had to start the first two games of each series on the road, and guess what? They won those two games in EVERY series. That was a huge factor in their success during the playoffs, if not the largest. Dealing with a hostile New Jersey crowd is not an easy feat, but the Kings did what they had to do to get the Stanley Cup.
How it applies to you: If you want to be remembered when it comes time to hire someone, be prepared to do some dirty work in your internship as well. If it means staying later to do some more research, do it. If it means arriving half an hour early to grab coffee and pick your manager’s brain, do it. If it means short lunches, long meetings, and a stack of never ending work, do it. Eight weeks is a short amount of time to make an impact, but it can be done!
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