The Essential Wooden is the ultimate collection of Wooden’s opinions and observations on achieving exceptional leadership in any organization, with 200 invaluable lessons for inspiring championship performance.
Coach Wooden offers his hard-won wisdom on building an organization that performs at its full potential under pressure, from preparing and training the team to instilling personal drive and dedication. He takes his famous Pyramid of Success to the next level, filling the entire book with his straight-shooting personality and keen insight on human nature.
Wooden shares rarely seen preseason letters to his players, revealing how he instilled productive attitudes and winning ways. He also includes previously unpublished analyses from former players and managers, including Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
From Wooden’s earliest days as a leader through his legendary UCLA dynasty, The Essential Wooden distills a lifetime of learning into the leadership playbook for the twenty-first century.
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From the Back Cover
“... A sure winner! The Essential Wooden presents the basics of leadership as taught by one of America's great leaders, John Wooden. His observations and conclusions about success and competitive greatness are as brilliant as gems--and just as valuable. ...” Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level
“... The Essential Wooden is vintage Coach Wooden and a great book for all managers who want to become more effective. Coach Wooden's values and methods will lead to lasting, positive results. ...”
Jeff Henley, Chairman of the Board, Oracle Corporation
“It has been my privilege to have several conversations with John Wooden. Every time I learn and grow from that experience. It is now your turn to receive nuggets of wisdom from this wonderful teacher. Each page of The Essential Wooden will benefit you and your organization.”
John C. Maxwell, author, speaker, and founder INJOY Stewardship Services and EQUIP
“A wonderful exposition of commonsense leadership from an uncommon leader--John Wooden. His legendary achievements stem from his 'old-fashioned' values. In The Essential Wooden he reveals how his character and skills were honed and how they apply in the 21st century. Required reading for anyone who aspires to being a great leader.”
Stephen R. Covey, author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
and The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
"... There is nothing fancy in what I teach about team building--nothing that requires a special gift, privilege, or access to power. Rather, it requires dedication to certain principles and concepts, which I include in this book. ..." John Wooden
"... Coach John Wooden, who has served as a mentor to so many through his timeless teaching, turns 99 years young this month. Coach Wooden, selected by his peers as the Greatest Coach of All Time in a recent survey by The Sporting News, encourages all of us to never stop learning and to teach others with that same passion.
As Coach celebrates another birthday in a life well lived, please celebrate with him and send him your best. Don Yaeger, Co-Author of A Game Plan for Life
The Power of Mentoring with John Wooden
"... I can't remember where I read this, but the exercise is to recall the last five Superbowl winners. Now recall five of your teachers who made a positive impact on you. The point being that it's the people in your life that make the dramatic difference.
That's the premise of the legendary John Wooden's latest book A Game Plan For Life. While the book will not win any Pulitzer prizes, it is a refreshingly honest book about the people who made and impression on John and, in turn, the people that he helped.
For example, John writes of drawing strength from Mother Teresa's admission that she questioned her faith in God. To him it made his own shortcomings more tenable. More often than not business books are written from the perspective of the infallible (Giuliani, Welch) which implies imperfection on the part of the reader; these guys didn't have any self-doubt so you're not as good since you do.
Again, the books not going to change the course of human history, but for those looking for a good airplane book this one's not bad. ..." Greg Eisenbach ~ Grassroots Innovation
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"... Coach Wooden is the most respected mentor I’ve ever met. He’s had a powerful impact on my life and now, through this book, he’ll touch you as well. Get ready for a life-changing experience. ..." Pat Williams, Sr. Vice President, Orlando Magic, author of Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams
"... All of us need to read John Wooden’s tips on mentoring and build them into our lives. There is no better person to give you A Game Plan for Life. ..." Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University basketball coach
"... There is no coach or former coach, in the U.S.A., more admired by his peers than John Wooden. When someone asks me who is the best athletic coach ever, my vote is John Wooden. A Game Plan for Life speaks loudly about the importance of learning and teaching for a lifetime. Coach Wooden’s message is one reason I keep coaching! ..." Bobby Bowden, Head Football Coach, Florida State University
"... My time learning from Coach Wooden — sitting and asking him questions, soaking up his answers—has provided some of the most significant lessons in my life. Any way that you can be mentored by a giant like him, including reading A Game Plan for Life, will provide great lessons for you, too. ..." Pat Summitt, Women’s Basketball Coach, University of Tennessee
"... Few coaches have effected their player’s lives so fully as John Wooden, so here’s a natural question: Who mentored the mentor? Well, John Wooden is glad we asked… ..." Bob Costas
"... Who better to learn you all his experiences than John Wooden? This is a positively great book by a great man. ..." Yogi Berra
"... Any success I’ve had as a parent is the result of listening to Coach Wooden expand on the lessons I learned from my own parents. ..."” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
"... Normally, I have the following sentiment about so-called "self-help" or "motivational" books: If you're reading one, your helper is a moron. And if you need motivation, you're probably not going to find it in a book.
Yet here I am, violating my own rules when it comes to this genre. Not only was I inspired and motivated by Wooden’s words, but I loved the book.
That might be because it wasn't written from the perspective of some self-righteous-psychobabbling zealot.
Instead, it comes from the mind of the best basketball coach of all time (10 national championships can't be wrong). Wooden explains the power of mentoring, and how it is the responsibility and duty of any mentor to open himself up honestly and courageously.
Wooden certainly takes his own advice, laying a foundation of knowledge and strategy to the lucky reader.
At UConn, my position coach, Hank Hughes, would talk -- somewhat in awe -- of Wooden and how he made his players pay attention to even the smallest of details.
Hughes’ favorite story was how Wooden taught his team, from freshman to senior, how to put on socks and tie their shoes before every season. At the time, I laughed at my coach for how much respect he showed Coach Wooden, but after reading this book, I now understand.
This was, without a doubt, a sports lover’s dream read, and for anyone searching for a little direction, there is no one man more qualified to impart knowledge, insight and experience than the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden. ..."
Rob Lunn graduated from the University of Connecticut at NESN.com
About the Authors
John Wooden is simply the most successful basketball coach in the history of the sport. In his 40 years as a head coach, Wooden compiled an unparalleled 885-203 overall career win-loss record (.813).
Wooden’s UCLA teams registered 620 wins and only 147 losses, won a record 10 NCAA championships, and achieved one of the most amazing winning streaks in all of sports with 38 straight NCAA tournament victories.
His Bruin teams also set the all-time NCAA record by winning 88 straight games over four seasons, including consecutive 30-0 seasons in 1971-72 and 1972-73.
As a high school basketball player at Martinsville, Indiana, Wooden won all-state honors three consecutive years. At Purdue University, he won letters in basketball and baseball his freshman year and later earned All-American honors as a guard on the basketball team from 1930 to 1932.
He captained Purdue’s basketball teams of 1931 and 1932 and led the Boilermakers to two Big Ten titles and the 1932 national championship.
Wooden was the first person to be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach. In 1999, ESPN named Wooden the Greatest Basketball Coach of All Time.
He was also named The Sporting News Sports Man of the Year in 1970 and Sports Illustrated Sports Man of the year in 1973.
Steve Jamison is America’s preeminent authority on John Wooden’s leadership philosophy and methodology. A popular speaker, Mr. Jamison has collaborated with Mr. Wooden on several bestselling books and an award-winning PBS presentation. Visit stevejamison.com.
About the Contents
When it comes to leadership and team building, few professions compare with the ranks of organized sports coaches. From the ranks of coaching we have been given a vastness of leadership training with which to shape and improve our lives. Every venue of athletics has made its' coaching contributions.
From football, we have the hard nosed precision of Vince Lombardi and the stoic presence of Bear Bryant. Baseball has given us the lighthearted leadership of Casey Stengal and the chess game cunning of Jim Leyland. Boxing has produced such brilliant motivators as Lou Duva and the no-nonsense yet compassionate Eddie Futch.
And basketball has been no exception from the explosive emotionalism of Bobby Knight to the intensity of Pat Summitt. But even among such greats as these, when it comes down to success, few can even be mentioned with the name of John Wooden.
His leadership and team building philosophy differs from many, lacking the emotionalism and intensity of what coaches typically display, and I wont go so far as to say Wooden's methods are better, but they certainly proved to be a championship building formula for him. In fact, Wooden even guarded against allowing emotions to reign supreme in his players.
The book focuses primarily on Wooden's 15 component Pyramid of Success. Wooden explains why each component is a part of the pyramid and why it is located where it is within the pyramid. There are also bits and pieces of letters to his teams as well as brief comments from his former players throughout the book.
Each page in this terrific book offers nuggets of wisdom from one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.
John Wooden¿s UCLA teams won 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships in 12 years, including 88 consecutive winning games, setting legendary and enduring records.
But the way Wooden's players behaved was even more impressive than the number of games they won. Never arrogant, the Bruins epitomized self-control and teamwork ¿ unselfish, disciplined and intense. An outstanding tactician, Wooden recruited superbly talented athletes.
However, he always believed that basketball was merely a vehicle for teaching his players about life and what really matters, hence this book of maxims and advice. Coach Wooden¿s principles about leadership and individual potential extend far beyond the basketball court.
He does not define success just as victory, but as a full, complete team effort. We recommend this book to everyone, no matter what game you play or lead.
Table of Contents
Preface & Prologue
Leadership, Values, Victory, and Success
Preparation and Training of a Team
Maintaining the Competitive Edge
Notes to Myself
Epilogue
• Authors: John Wooden and Steve Jamison • Binding: Hardcover • Number of Pages: 188 pages • Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies, The • Publishing Date: December 15, 2006 • Language: English
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