I recently read the 5 Ethics of Life from The Wise You. I believe these 5 principles offer a great deal of wisdom for living a very successful life. 1. Listen Before You Speak Every successful person I have ever worked with has developed the ability to listen. I was directing a basketball clinic in New York and went to dinner with a high school coach and the legendary UCLA coach, John Wooden. Coach Wooden’s UCLA teams won 7 NCAA National Basketball Tournaments in a row and 10 in the last 12 years he coached. I don’t think either of these feats will ever be eclipsed. If you had been at that dinner and you thought speaking was the key to intelligence, you [...]

When Jerry Krause was General Manager of the Chicago Bulls, he once said to Michael Jordan the oft quoted expression, “There is no I in TEAM.” Jordan retorted by saying, “But there is an I in WIN.” What does it take to win? I believe there are five components that must be present to win in athletics. I believe these five ingredients are present in winning in all areas of life. They are especially important to the success of leaders in any endeavor undertaken. 1. Talent I coached basketball for 44 years – 10 at the high school level and 34 at the collegiate level. There is no question in my mind that you need talented players to win. Coaches who think their [...]

Bill Russell played for the Boston Celtics for 13 years. Remarkably, his teams won the NBA championship 11 of those 13 years. He felt the key to their success was the development of their team ego. He said when the Celtics entered a building for practice or a game, they left their individual egos at the door. However, what they brought into the building was their team ego. The Celtics knew they were a good team and their mindset towards an opponent was if you are to beat us, you had better bring a great game because we know we are! Great coaches knew the secret about ego Great coaches constantly speak to the importance of the team, not the individual. Vince Lombardi [...]

Michigan State basketball coach, Tom Izzo, wrote “Players play. Tough players win.” I would add to that, “It’s tough to win.”I think if you, as a leader, are looking to build an organization that is successful – that wins – you first have to accept that it will be tough. There are no shortcuts to success. In my 44 years of coaching, I was fortunate to coach a lot of tough players. I believe the toughness I have seen in athletes corresponds well to any organization or business. Athletic toughness encompasses the following five characteristics. 1. Work Tough players work at practice. When they tie up their shoes and step across that line for practice, they are ready to work. They take no [...]

Work and success are virtually synonymous. The dictionary defines work as, “Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something.” Success is defined as, “goal reached; accomplishment.” When you look at both work and success, you find the words, “accomplish something” and “accomplishment.” Vince Lombardi, the legendary Green Bay Packers coach, wrote, “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Work is the key to success and hard work can help you accomplish anything.” The key to the words, work and success, is always their order. Work precedes success. In my 44 years of coaching basketball – 10 at the high school level and 34 at the collegiate level – I was fortunate to coach numerous All-Conference and All-State [...]

Our college coach, Gordie Gillespie, had this to say about athletic practices, “You play as you practice.” Excellent practices lead to excellent games; poor practices make for poor performance. Dean Smith, the former University of North Carolina basketball coach, believed, “The practices belong to the coaches; the games belong to the players.” The practices must properly prepare the players for the games. Practices in athletics can be based on four principles. Are these four principles relevant to the training in your business or your organization? Does your organization’s training properly prepare your people for excellence in execution of your policies? 1. Effort Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, used to tell his players, “We will chase perfection, and we [...]

Organizations spend a great amount of time throughout the course of a year in meetings. Meetings should always be meaningful, organized, and necessary. Unfortunately, too many meetings I have sat through fit what a friend once told me, “Meetings are people sitting around talking about things they ought to be doing.” I can recall many meetings I attended through my career wishing I could have been in my office working! I think meetings are more fruitful if they are preceded by a comprehensive Planning Meeting at the beginning of the year. The purpose of this initial meeting is to get everyone on the same page for the upcoming year. University of St. Francis Athletics Our full-time people in the St. Francis athletic program [...]

Organizations spend a great amount of time throughout the course of a year in meetings. Meetings should always be meaningful, organized, and necessary. Unfortunately, too many meetings I have sat through fit what a friend once told me, “Meetings are people sitting around talking about things they ought to be doing.” I can recall many meetings I attended through my career wishing I could have been in my office working! I think meetings are more fruitful if they are preceded by a comprehensive Planning Meeting at the beginning of the year. The purpose of this initial meeting is to get everyone on the same page for the upcoming year. University of St. Francis Athletics Our full-time people in the St. Francis athletic program [...]