Excerpts from John Wooden's Book, "They Call Me Coach"

"In group activity, there must be supervision and leadership and a disciplined effort by all, or much of our united strength will be dissipated pulling against ourselves.

If you discipline yourself toward team effort under the supervision of the one in charge, even though you might not always agree with the decisions, much can and will be accomplished.

Your lot is certain failure without discipline.

I am very interested in each of you as an individual but I must act in what I consider to be in the best interest of the team for either the moment or the future.

Your race or your religion will have no bearing on my judgment, but your ability and how it works to my philosophy of team play very definitely will.  Furthermore, your personal conduct and adherence to standards that I make will undoubtedly be taken into consideration either consciously or unconsciously.

There may seem to be double standards at times as I most certainly will not treat you all alike in every respect.  However, I will attempt to give each individual the treatment he earns and deserves according to my judgment, in keeping with what I consider in the best interest of the team.  You must accept this in the proper manner for you to be a positive and contributing member..."

From John Wooden's annual letter to the team in July of 1970, a few months after UCLA's basketball team won its 4th consecutive national title

Summary #1 As quoted by some of the top leaders of our time

John Wooden:  Looking for good people with strong character.
Marissa Mayer:  Looking for smart people who get things done.
Michael Treacy:  Looking for a great management team.
Vince Lombardi:  Looking for people who have strong work habits that consistently do things right.
Eric Musselman:  Looking for hard workers (was quoted as saying "If a guy isn't willing to work his butt off, I just despise him.")  my all time favorite quote.  :-))
Mindy Grossman:  Looking for passionate workers who take great pride in their work.

Success as defined by John Wooden

 Pyramid of Success by John Wooden

Yes men not wanted, strategy unimportant, instead good people needed

"He knows that the strength of the team is the strength of the individual and that when everyone thinks alike, no one is thinking." 
"He never talks about strategy, statistics, or plays but rather about people and character."
"He never tires of telling us that once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player or whatever else you may want to do."

Bill Walton describing his college basketball coach, John Wooden

NBA Magic or just plain hard work?

"Legends are born when big shots are made.  And every NBA finals hero--from Bird to Jordan to Wade--has had a sweet spot (defined as the area of the court where they always seem to make the clutch shots).  How do players find there special place?  A little magic, a little luck and a lot of work."  Article from June 14th issue of ESPN Magazine.

Consider what Steve Kerr, former guard for the Championship Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs:  "That's why it's important to practice the shots you are going to get in the game.  I knew where my shots were going to come from, so those were the shots I made sure I could make (from hours and hours of practice)."

Imitation is all around us

"We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves to be like other people."  Arthur Schopenhauer

Do you really want it?

We get into trouble when we call a "want" a "need" --- it begins to corrupt our integrity.  From the book "Do It."