{On April 5, 2013, we will celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the First Friday Book Synopsis, and begin our 16th year. During March, I will post a blog post per day remembering key insights from some of the books I have presented over the 15 years of the First Friday Book Synopsis. We have met every first Friday of every month since April, 1998 (except for a couple of weather –related cancellations). These posts will focus only on books I have presented. My colleague, Karl Krayer, also presented his synopses of business books at each of these gatherings. I am going in chronological order, from April, 1998, forward. The fastest way to check on these posts will be at Randy’s blog entries — though there will be some additional blog posts interspersed among these 30.}
Post #17 of 30
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Synopsis presented March, 2006
Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden (McGraw-Hill. 2005).
We have a shortage of good leaders. People who know “what needs to be done,” with the observation skills to see how to help others get “better” at what they do, people who help others develop their own abilities. People of integrity who will do “the right thing,” and can always be counted on to do precisely that. People who know when to teach, when to critique, when to criticize (“A coach is someone who can give correction without creating resentment” – John Wooden), when to encourage, when to just enjoy the success…
In other words, we need a few more John Woodens.
I am only a casual fan of basketball. Unlike my First Friday Book Synopsis colleague Karl Krayer, who practically sets his yearly calendar around the Final Four, I am just barely aware of when March Madness arrives. But I like to know about people who were the very best at what they did. And in the world of college basketball, John Wooden, former coach at UCLA, heads a list of two that must be described as the best. (The other is Pat Summitt who, sadly, saw her career cut short due to early-onset Alzeimer’s). And upon his death (he died in 2010 at age 99), we read the stories of his former players who would come to visit him as his life drew to its end. He was loved, revered, respected, by those he led. That surely has to be the ultimate test of leadership.
You get nearly all that you need about the man from the preface by Steve Jamison.
Dr. Albert Einstein and Coach John Wooden share a similar brilliance: specifically, both mastered the complicated art of keeping it simple.
Here is the answer: Coach Wooden taught good habits. That’s it – that’s the answer.
Move past the equation, delve deeper, and the text of his good habits curriculum becomes the inculcation of values, knowledge, team spirit, discipline, consistency, standards, ideals, balance, character, details, hard work, love, self-control, loyalty, diligence, and more, including how to put on your socks in the most effective manner.
And here is Coach Wooden’s simple description of his own rile in life:
What am I? Just a teacher – a member of one of the great professions in the world. My teaching had accomplished great things, but in the process it had created a level of attention that eventually drove me away.
and
In all my years of coaching I rarely, if ever, even uttered the word win, talked about “beating” an opponent, or exhorted a team to be number one, including those picked by experts to win national championships. Instead, my words and actions always reflected Joshua Hugh Wooden’s early advice – “Never cease trying to be the best you can become.”
and
At some point, later than I’d care to admit, it became clear to me that the most productive model for good leadership is a good parent. A coach, teacher, and leader, in my view, are all basic variations of being a parent.
However, this “just a teacher” had some astonishingly impressive numbers, including:
• 10 national championships (a record)
• seven in a row (a record)
• 88 consecutive victories (a record)
• 38 straight tournament playoff wins (a record)
• four perfect seasons (a record) with only one losing year – his first — in 41 years of coaching
Now, about that “put on your socks in the most effective manner” story. It may be the story that I most remember from the book, and I come close to demonstrating it when I present my synopsis of this book. (And, yes, I still present this synopsis to leadership teams. It is that good!) On opening day of practice, Coach Wooden would have all of his players remove their shoes and socks, which he would do also. Then, he would show them, slowly and surely and carefully, how to put on socks the right way – i.e., the way that absolutely minimizes blisters. Why? Because players get sloppy, and sloppiness in one place leads to sloppiness in every place. And, blisters on a foot can be a really bad thing to deal with, especially in the 4th quarter of a close game. This ritual was mentioned by more than one former player after his death – it stuck with them for a lifetime.
What else did Coach Wooden teach? The imprortance of balance:
The body has to be in balance; the mind has to be in balance; emotions must be in balance. Balance is important everywhere and in everything we do.
There is a lot of talk these days about planning + execution. Well, Coach Wooden planned every minute of his relatively short practices. And then, he worked that plan, day after day, year after year. Work ethic was everything…
UCLA practices were two hours in length; On average, I had 210 hours of practice time to accomplish my teaching goals (105 practices, each two hours long).
(He would plan each minute of each session. “Carelessness is not something I’ve been accused of with any frequency”).
and
Others may have far more ability than you have, they may be larger, faster, quicker, able to jump better, etc., but no one should be your superior in team spirit, loyalty, enthusiasm, cooperation, determination, industriousness, fight, and character. Acquire and keep these traits and success should follow.
and
If you want to extend a winning streak – forget about it. If you want to break a losing streak – forget about it. Forget about everything except concentrating on hard work and intelligent planning.
and
It is the hard work you do in practice after you are “all in” that improves your condition. Force yourself when you are tired.
And all of this was to create, within each player, genuine self-discipline:
Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.
I remember reading, a few years after his retirement, that he would attend the UCLA women’s basketball games, but not the men’s. A reporter spotted him, and asked him why he did that. This is paraphrased from memory, but his answer went something like this: “the men’s game is now too much a game of individuals. But the women play like a team. I prefer that.” Again, from the book:
The star of the team is the team.
And, what about the tasks of leadership?
An effective leader is very good at listening. And it’s difficult to listen when you’re talking.
and
Surround yourself with people strong enough to change your mind.
The book describes the key elements of his philosophy:
• 10 (10 National Championships) = C + F + U (Conditioning + Fundamentals + Unity)
• Rules to lead by:
• before you lead others, you must be able to lead yourself
• don’t hastily replace the old fashioned with the new fangled
• learn to master the four P’s: planning, preparation, practice, and performance
• write down the tasks, initiatives, and actions that each member of your team needs to do to perform at his or her peak level
I concluded my synopsis handout with this list, from his Pyramid of Success:
• Lessons in Leadership
• Good values attract good people
• Use the most powerful four-letter word: Love (team/family)
• Call yourself a teacher
• Emotion is your enemy
• It takes ten hands to score a basket
• Little things make big things happen
• Make each day your masterpiece
• The carrot is mightier than the stick
• Make greatness attainable by all
• Seek significant change
• Don’t look at the scoreboard
• Adversity is your asset
Coach Wooden always focused on his “Pyramid of Success.” He viewed it as a true pyramid – each level has to be “followed,” in the order it falls on the pyramid. Click on the image. Look at it. Ponder it. And then, you might understand why Coach Wooden was so loved, revered, and successful in every way that mattered.
In revisiting this book again this morning, it is no wonder that it makes my list of 30 books in 30 days.
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You can purchase many of these synopses, with our comprehensive handouts, and audio recordings of our presentations, at our companion site 15minutebusinessbooks.com. The recordings may not be studio quality, but they are understandable, usable recordings, to help you learn.
(And though the handouts are simple Word documents, in the last couple of years we have “upgraded” the look of our handouts to a graphically designed format).
We have clients who play these recordings for small groups. They distribute the handouts, listen to the recordings together, and then have a discussion that is always some form of a “what do we have to learn, what can we do with this?” conversation. Give it a try.
First Friday Book Synopsis 