Leadership. Even more than a 42” vertical jump or soft touch from three-point range, there’s nothing Tom Izzo craves in the young men he deals with than that elusive quality of leadership. As hard to perceive in a new recruit as it is to teach to a veteran player, Izzo believes leadership on a team – be in on the court, boardroom, or floor of a manufacturing plant, is what transforms good organizations into great ones.

Not coincidentally, it was on precisely this topic that Izzo talked to a full house at the Eagle Eye banquet facility in mid-September at the fourth annual Business-Sports Luncheon, hosted by this magazine, and sponsored by the businesses and organizations listed at the end of this article. Introduced by MSU’s Athletic Director-designate Mark Hollis, Izzo held his audience captive with words of wisdom accumulated during his 27-year tenure at MSU mixed with a generous dose of anecdotes that kept those in attendance as engaged as the Izzone during a close game.

And now, presented for your reading pleasure: some of the thoughts Izzo shared about the similarities between many aspects of sports and business.

“Some people play good, sell good, (and) do things very well, but they don’t have the capability of dragging other people (with them). And to me, that’s the difference between a player and a leader. Usually, great teams have somebody that can drag other people. Just playing good – every team has enough good players, every company has good salesmen -- but who on that group can drag other people with them? And I think those (people) usually end up the leaders of business, the leaders of a team. And so, just being a good player… means you take care of your business; being a good leader means you take care of other people’s business.”

Asked how people can develop leadership skills, Izzo said, “I think it’s a sixth sense that you just have, and a skill that you have, and (that) people can develop it.”

On what it’s like in that rarified air at the top: “In my case, when we won the National Championship with Mateen Cleaves, Jud (Heathcoat) called me and said, ‘Well, you’d better enjoy that, because you know, those guys come around about once every twenty-five years.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘Well, it was Magic (for me)… maybe twenty-five years later it was Mateen (for you).’”

Izzo said that when he first came to MSU, he focused on building a team that could compete for (and ultimately would win) a National Championship. Having accomplished that, he turned his attention to building a solid program. Having accomplished that, he found himself once again needing to focus on the team in order to get back to the Final Four. In that way, he said success is a fleeting, never-ending quest.

He continued: “That’s why I love business and sports. There a great parallel because you’re really trying to get more out of people than they think they have to give, whether (they are) your salespeople, your secretaries… whoever works in your office or department. (And) we’re trying to do the same thing in sports. But it seems like in business, no matter what you do, the next year you’re trying to outdo that – there’s no ceiling. Trying to get people to do things that I’m not even sure they know they can do – that’s why makes it exciting to be a leader.

What does Izzo look for in a player?

“Versatility. I don’t like a ‘guard’ or a ‘center’ or a ‘one sport guy.’ Most basketball coaches love one-sport guys. I hate one-sport guys. I like multidimensional people, (because) I think they have multidimensional skills.”

He summed up his thoughts by saying, “I’m not sure any of us are great at anything, but (you can be successful) if you have versatility and a willingness to learn, listen and do all the things that separate you from just the average Joe.”

Dave Courey from first-time event sponsor Ingham Health Care, said of Izzo, “He takes kids, and does such a great job with coaching them along. There are so many things in athletics that you can take into life later, and I think he teaches that and does a great job. And that really speaks to leadership.”

Final accolades come from the man who is perhaps Izzo’s biggest fan, his soon-to-be new boss Mark Hollis: “He demands perfection of anybody that works for him. He fights for his people, which I really admire. ” And on a warm last summer day in September, there was no one more admired in the room than Coach Tom Izzo. And to understand why, one need look no farther than to one of the signs he his posted in his office: “The only effort here is a championship effort.”