I suck at basketball. I was notorious in Middle School for NEVER scoring for my own team, but when I got the ball (finally), I turned around, made the shot…. for the other team.
Anyway.
Coach Wooden was one of the winningest College Basketball coaches in history. I learned about him when I was doing radio, and was tasked with managing a radio station and it’s on-air talent.
In becoming a better leader, I discovered Wooden’s ‘Pyramid of Success’ and his leadership philosophy.
Sure, Coach passed away in 2010, but his lessons stand the test of time !
1. Wooden on Learning:
Everything we know we learned from someone else – John Wooden
2. Wooden on Winning:
Winning seems important, but it actually is irrelevant. Having attempted to give our all is what matters – and we are the only ones who really know the truth about our own capabilities and performance. – John Wooden
3. Wooden on Character:
Never Lie. Never Cheat. Never Steal. Don’t Whine. Don’t Complain. Don’t Make Excuses. – John Wooden
4. Wooden on Doing it Right:
If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? – John Wooden
5. Wooden on Gentleness:
Gentleness can fix in a moment what an hour of shouting fails to achieve. – John Wooden
6. Wooden on What we Can Change:
We change what we can, but if we get too concerned, involved and engrossed in circumstances over which we have no control or can’t change, those circumstances are going to have a negative impact on events and outcomes we can control. – John Wooden
7. Wooden on Advice:
Advice, after all, is just experience without the pain of having to learn those lessons yourself. – John Wooden
8. Wooden on Comparing Yourself to Others:
You’re as good as anybody. But never forget you’re no better than anybody, either. – John Wooden
9. Wooden on Giving Credit and Taking Blame:
Great leaders give credit to others and accept the blame themselves. – John Wooden
10. Wooden on Correction:
Humiliation is not the same thing as correction: One attacks the person; the other attacks the problem. – John Wooden