With this week’s first and second round games in the NCAA basketball tournament, I am reminded of a book I read three years ago by Seth Davis, who is a Sports Illustrated columnist and CBS studio participant. His book, When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010), was about… Read More The Genesis of March Madness in Seth Davis’ Account
So, as I have watched a few of the events from the Olympics, and I’ve been thinking about the 10,000 hour rule. And I am ready to state the obvious: putting in 10,000 hours guarantees nothing. First, a refresher. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, described the 10,000 hour rule. To summarize, it takes 10,000… Read More Olympic Champions, and Olympic Participants, and that 10,000 Hour Rule
Here is a problem – a big problem – in the high-tech, digital world we all function in. E-mail, and other forms of digital communication, have trumped conversation. And that is a mistake. So, recently, I ran across this phrase, which is attributed to Peter Block. (I heard it from Mark Israelson, who works for… Read More Connection Before Content – Your Communication Tip of the Day
• “Success is peace of mind which is s direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” • For Coach Wooden, 10 national championships are summed up in the simplicity of an elegant formula: 10 = C + F + U (Conditioning + Fundamentals +… Read More Conditioning + Fundamentals + Unity – Coach John Wooden’s Formula for Success
What am I? Just a teacher – a member of one of the great professions in the world. John Wooden, Wooden on Leadership “For a lot of employees, Starbucks is their first professional experience… So we try to figure out how to give our employees the self-discipline they didn’t learn in high school.” Quoted… Read More Managers & Supervisors; Teachers, Coaches, & Mentors – thoughts on Developing Employees
Assume every shot will be missed and produce a subsequent opportunity to get a rebound. John Wooden, Wooden on Leadership ——— When things go wrong, there are many appropriate responses, but this one is never appropriate: “I can’t believe this went wrong.” We should know by now that things will go wrong. Without a… Read More Assume Every Shot Will Be Missed – Brilliant Counsel from Coach Wooden
Legendary is not a strong enough word. Here in Dallas, whatever punch the word “legendary” carries, it is not enough to describe the name Roger Staubach. The winner of two Super Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys, Roger Staubach is simply the man. And his success on the field carried over into a vast Real Estate… Read More From Roger Staubach to Title IX Babies – Athletic Endeavor Really Can Lead to Business Success
Recently, I delivered my synopsis on the now classic Encouraging the Heart: A Leaders Guide to Rewarding and Encouraging Others by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Pozner. From the book, here are the seven essentials of encouraging: 1. Set clear standards 2. Expect the best 3. Pay attention 4. Personalize recognition 5. Tell the… Read More Coaching Anyone? – Some Practical Ideas You Can Use Right Now
I have always deeply admired John Wooden. I wrote this post about him last October, and this brief tribute after his death. But now, after a couple of days of reading/hearing a lot more about him, I want to add, or at least reinforce, a couple of observations. #1 John Wooden was an exemplar of… Read More John Wooden – Exemplar of Intrinsic Motivation
There are good men and women who coach sports teams. There are good coaches who may not be such good people. And every now and then, there is a great coach and an even better person wrapped up in one human being. John Wooden was one such person. I don’t know that the list of… Read More John Wooden: Coach, Author, Role Model, and so much more: 1910-2010
First Friday Book Synopsis 