Leading with the Heart (eBook)

Coach K's Successful Strategies for Sport, Business and Life

Mike Krzyzewski (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
336 Seiten
Allen & Unwin (Verlag)
978-1-80546-233-0 (ISBN)

Infos

*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, FEATURED ON THE TV SERIES THE BEAR* 'Few leaders have inspired teams as successfully as Mike Krzyzewski.' Forbes 'His approach to business reflects his basketball coaching philosophy: the winning formula is teamwork.' Financial Times 'Riveting and incredibly informative ... Coach K will provide inspiration for the toughest of moments, and how to execute a comeback under pressure.' GQ Australia In this informative and inspirational book, Coach K explains how he motivates peak performances from his players, relying on lessons he learned as a captain in the US Army and applied over four decades as the head of Duke basketball. Throughout his career, Coach K's ethos centred around fostering an environment and culture that focussed on openness, hard work and cooperation to ensure excellence on and off the court. Through his innate understanding of teamwork and mutual respect, this rediscovered bestseller will teach everyone, everywhere, how to get the best performance out of themselves and their team.

Mike Krzyzewski was the head basketball coach of the Duke Blue Devils from 1980 to 2022, winning five NCAA championships and 1,202 games-the most ever in Division 1. He is revered by sports fans and business leaders everywhere. Coach K lives with his family in Durham, North Carolina. Bestselling author Don Phillips brings history alive with his trilogy on American leadership (The Founding Fathers on Leadership, Lincoln on Leadership, Martin Luther King, Jr. on Leadership).

Textauszug

1

GETTING ORGANIZED

“Too many rules get in the way of leadership. They just put you in a box. . . . People set rules to keep from making decisions.”

—Coach K

“The deal is the handshake. The deal is that there won’t be any deals.”

—Coach K

“Every team I was on over my four years at Duke, he coached differently.”

—Grant Hill (1990–1994) on Coach K

Okay, everybody, listen up.

“We have only one rule here: Don’t do anything that’s detrimental to yourself. Because if it’s detrimental to you, it’ll be detrimental to our program and to Duke University.”

As the team gathers together in our locker room for the first time, I try to get my only rule out of the way fast. I won’t dwell on it because I’d rather not ruin the moment. This is a great day—a day that I’ve been looking forward to with anxious anticipation for months. You can feel the excitement in the air. You can see the spring in everyone’s step.

Even though the preseason begins around the first of September, it’s really like springtime—time for the birth of a new team. All the players come in fresh. They bring whoever they are to that first meeting. They bring innocence with them. And they’re ready to grow.

Looking at the young faces in front of me, I see myself more than thirty years earlier. And I think back to 1969.

“I want to tell you a story,” I’ll say next. “It’s a story about how I first became a basketball coach.

“In 1969, right after I graduated from West Point, I was assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado. One of the first things I did was begin to work out and play in my off-duty hours with the post basketball team. But my direct superior, a colonel, called me in and told me that I could not participate. He didn’t like the thought of me fraternizing with the enlisted men.

“ ‘No officer of mine is going to be wasting his time playing basketball,’ he said. ‘There are other things you should be doing.’

“Shortly after that, I received a call from Major General Bernard Rogers, the new division commander at Fort Carson. General Rogers had just received that assignment after having served as the commandant of cadets at West Point, where, of course, he knew me as the captain of the varsity basketball team. The general had just been to a post basketball game and he called to ask why I wasn’t playing with the team.

“ ‘Sir, my colonel would rather that I not play,’ I responded. ‘He feels it’s not a good thing for officers to do.’

“The general then went to the colonel.

“ ‘Why isn’t Lieutenant Krzyzewski playing on the post basketball team?’ he asked.

“When the colonel responded that he just didn’t think it was good for an officer to participate, General Rogers replied: ‘Well, Colonel, the question is not, “Should Lieutenant Krzyzewski be playing basketball on our team.” The question is, “Should we have a team?” If the answer to that question is, “Yes, we should have a team,” then we should have the best damn team we can possibly have.’

“The colonel then agreed that the post should have a basketball team.

“ ‘Well, Colonel,’ said the general, ‘then Lieutenant Krzyzewski will play basketball. And not only that, he will coach the team.’

“That’s how I began coaching basketball. And the first year, we won the Fifth Army championship. General Rogers eventually became the Army Chief of Staff and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

“But that’s not why I’m telling you this story,” I’ll say in conclusion. “There’s already been a decision made here at Duke that we’re going to have a basketball team. So we’re going to have the best damn team we can possibly have. That’s why all of you are here today. You were recruited specifically for this purpose. Each of you is special. I don’t want you to ever forget that.”

Even though our first formal practice is still six weeks away, I’m already comfortable with the kids on the team. I’ve spent a good deal of time recruiting them from all over the country. At Duke, we search for good kids with strong character—not necessarily kids with great talent who can play, but great individuals who are willing to be part of a team and who are coachable. Some of the students have been with us for one, two, or three years—and some are incoming freshmen. I’ve worked hard to get to know all of them. And even if I don’t yet understand every aspect of their personalities, at least I know the fabric of who they are. I like them as players and as people.

We usually have the initial meeting in our locker room because it’s where we’re going to be for many intimate moments in the future. So I think it’s a good place for us to take that first step. In addition to the players, the rest of the team is present, including: the trainer, the team physician, the managers, my administrative assistant, and our three assistant coaches.

It’s important to begin using plural pronouns right away. “Our” instead of “my.” “We” instead of “I.” “Us” rather than “me.” I don’t want the guys to be thinking this is “my” team—Coach K’s team. I want them to believe it’s “our” team.

The principle that “we’re all important” is also something that needs to be demonstrated immediately. That’s why the head coach isn’t the only one who talks at this, or any other, Duke basketball meeting. Different people will speak to the players. The team trainer will discuss schedules for upcoming physicals. The team managers will say something about what they do and what is expected. Then I’ll usually pop in with something like: “Just remember, the managers are part of our team—as is everyone here. Treat them right. We’re all equal.”

Time Management

At the first meeting, we pass out notebooks and pocket calendars containing a variety of logistical items. Important dates for the upcoming semester are marked and reviewed, including things like: our first practice, the day new recruits are in town for a visit, special events at my home, and, of course, our schedule of games.

We’ll also point out when fall break occurs, and when might be a good time to leave for the Christmas holidays. We’ll encourage the students to plan ahead, to schedule their flights and trips well in advance so as to save money.

Time management is a lesson that the students learn through us—not only as it relates to them individually, but as it pertains to a group. In other words, we make certain that they realize right off the bat that they have responsibilities to the team as well as to themselves alone.

Academics

We also really hit hard on academics. One member of our staff will talk about the students getting their schedules set up and in on time. They will be reminded to tell professors of their athletic schedules, when they have to miss class, and what they plan to do to get the materials they would miss.

Basketball players are simply not going to scrape by in their studies at Duke University. They are going to have to work. As a head coach, I personally do not want to represent a school that brings in twenty people over five years and have only two of them graduate. I expect every player we recruit to graduate. And I tell them so right up front.

We also want university life to be a total experience for them. That’s one reason there are no athletic dorms on campus. They just serve to separate the athlete from the rest of the student body and rob him of the opportunity to integrate with others. To me, that’s one of the most important aspects of a college education.

While it’s always up to the individual student to graduate, I also believe it’s incumbent upon the school to positively influence its athletes in their studies. So, throughout the year, we keep close track of how our players are progressing. Once the schedules are in, we obtain a syllabus for each course so that we know when project due dates and midterm tests will occur. As the head coach, I receive weekly updates throughout the year on significant events in each student’s academic life—and then take action accordingly.

At the first team meeting, I’ll take a minute to stress honor in academics. “What is the worst thing that can happen to you academically?” I’ll ask. And usually someone will respond by saying, “I get an F.”

“No, that’s not the worst thing,” will be my comeback. “You can get an F even though you may try like crazy. The worst thing you can do is cheat. Now what do we mean by cheating? Well it’s easy to copy off of someone else’s paper, use someone else’s paper, bring information into a test that you’re not allowed to bring in, things like that. But let me tell you that here in the Duke basketball program, all those things are absolutely unacceptable.”

And then...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.1.2024
• Verlagsort: London
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Bewerbung / Karriere
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Lebenshilfe / Lebensführung
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Psychologie
• Schlagworte: books about sports psychology • books for successful mindset • books for success in career • coach k book • coach k book the bear • coach k comeback • how to be successful in life • How to Succeed in Life • self development books • self development books for work • self-help books • self help books for work • self help books to read • sports psychology books • Strategies for success • the bear book • the bear season 2 • the bear season 2 book
• ISBN-10: 1-80546-233-4 / 1805462334
• ISBN-13: 978-1-80546-233-0 / 9781805462330