Only three teams remain in the NBA playoffs — but one of the best leadership lessons this week came from a franchise that’s been eliminated.

Oklahoma City won 57 games and earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this season despite having one of the youngest rosters in the league.

But at his end-of-season news conference on Tuesday, Thunder General Manager Sam Presti cautioned against celebrating too soon and making lofty assumptions about the future.

“What we have is an appearance,” he said. “We have shown up to the postseason. We’ll have arrived if we can replicate that.”

The difference between appearances and arrivals is one we as leaders would be wise to consider.

Appearances:

-Success over a short period
-Flashes of brilliance and greatness that offer major hope
-Discovering something that may be long-term sustainable
-Great progress leading to general cause for optimism

Arrivals:

-Sustained achievement over an extended period
-Repeated winning behavior that has become the norm
-Knowing specifically what works and what doesn’t
-Reaching the top of the mountain 

In our competitive work environments, we often look for reasons to believe we’re on the right path and indicators that the strategies and systems we have in place are destined to reap big rewards down the road.

But it’s critical to recognize the difference between short-term progress and long-term achievement.

The best in any industry understand that what was good enough yesterday often isn’t good enough tomorrow — and never take for granted the sweat equity required for elite performance.

“We can crack the code or we can pick the lock,” Presti said.

“We need to crack the code.”

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