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Lessons of life - and business -learned from the sporting world
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If I could come back in a second life, I'd like to be a high school or college basketball coach. I love basketball, and feel that few of us can have a greater influence on young people than a coach.
I've long admired John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach who won 10 NCAA championships. He was in the news again this summer, named the Greatest Coach Ever by Sporting News.
Wooden was a masterful molder of young men. He credits his father for grounding him in the principles on which he has based his life and career.
"When I graduated from our little three-room grade school in Centerton, Ind.," Wooden said, "my father gave me a little card on which he had written out his creed." At the top of the card was written, "Seven Things to Do." They are:
1. Be true to yourself.
2. Help others.
3. Make each day your masterpiece.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.
Wooden remembers that all his father said to him when he handed him the card was, "Son, try and live up to these things." Wooden certainly did.
Wooden might be best known for his "Pyramid of Success." He drilled it into his players over and over.
On the bottom layer, draw five blocks and label them industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation and enthusiasm. On the next layer, fill in four blocks with these labels: self-control, alertness, initiative and intentness. On the next layer, draw three blocks and label them condition, skill and team spirit. On the fourth layer, place two blocks; poise and confidence. The fifth and next-to-last layer has only one block: competitive greatness. Finally, the triangular crown of the pyramid is divided into halves labeled faith and patience.
Wooden always maintained that the order and placement of each block was essential to the pyramid's success. Considering his success with this teaching tool, who can contradict him?
Wooden was a three-time All-American at Purdue. "My coach at Purdue, Piggy Lambert, constantly reminded us: 'The team that makes the most mistakes will probably win.' That may sound a bit odd, but there is a great deal of truth in it. The doer makes mistakes. Coach Lambert taught me that mistakes come from doing, but so does success. The individual who is mistake-free is also probably sitting around doing nothing. And that's a very big mistake."
Like all great coaches and teachers, Wooden did not teach basketball. He taught life. If you learned a little basketball on the side, so much the better.
A favorite Wooden quote: "Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."
Mackay's Moral: (courtesy of Wooden) "Talent is God-given; be humble. Fame is man-given; be thankful. Conceit is self-given; be careful."
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