Wooden on Leadership

Though he was better at it than almost anyone in American history, building a sports dynasty was never a goal for UCLA head coach John Wooden. Rather, it was Wooden's passionate desire to teach his players how to become the best team they could be. To Wooden, "Comparative Greatness" was a tangible and teachable force.

One of the lesser-known aspects of Wooden's career is the private notebooks in which he regularly recorded his observations, goals, and leadership concepts as they applied to basketball, success, and lie. Wooden on Leadership draws from those personal notes to share practical and powerful leadership skills that anyone can use to improve performance and overcome self-imposed limitations.

Wooden on Leadership contains the best of Wooden's observations, covering everything from teamwork ("It takes 10 hands to score a basket") and self-control ("Emotion is the enemy") to concentration ("Don't look at the scoreboard") and dealing with defeat ("Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out"). Featuring pivotal moments in Wooden's historic leadership journey, it explores 15 fundamental leadership qualities - building blocks - of his famous Pyramid of Success, illustrating their relevance in building a winning organization. Each chapter includes Wooden's "Rules to Lead By," point-by-point action steps for implementing the chapter's key concepts and leadership tenets.

Exclusive "On Wooden" summary sections throughout the book feature penetrating insights on Coach Wooden's leadership methods from players and coaches who worked with him during his career, including All-Americans Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gail Goodrich, and David Meyers and assistant coaches Denny Crum, Gary Cunningham, and Eddie Powell. As participants and contributors to Wooden's legacy, their words provide a revealing and personal perspective.

Wooden on Leadership reveals the leadership wisdom of John Wooden. It presents the core concepts, methods, and beliefs that Wooden used to teach his teams how to attain Competitive Greatness and true personal success.

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