Wooden on Leadership review:3 stars (Basketball - Yes! Business - No!) - Without question Coach Wooden is in a league by himself when it comes to major college basketball. He is also a very impressive and inspirational person. However, this book is another in a never-ending series of books trying to generalize non-business world (eg. sports, armed forces, girl scouts, religion, NASA, etc.) management techniques to the business world. Most, possibly all, are of little value because of major differences.
1)Members constituting the varying organizations are motivated differently, and face greatly significantly different situations. What does eg. a fighter pilot or basketball coach have in common with a pharmicist, nurse, professor, financial analyst, etc.? I have no idea. College basketball players generally are "in the game" for only part of the day for part of the year for a short part of their lives (about three years), and do not depend on it for their livelihood. That's much different than people working full-time at a career that they depend on for their livelihood.
2)Key success factors vary from one business to another. For Merck, it may be speed of developing new drugs, getting through FDA approval, and motivating physicians to use them. For Nucor Steel, it undoubtedly rests much more on low-cost production. Again, what does either have to do with college basketball - little, if anything.
One is better off reading books from similar situations - eg. about Wal-Mart (if you are in retailing), about Allied-Signal or G.E. (if you are managing a conglomerate - I especially recommend Bossidy's "Execution"), and about New York Community School District #4, as managed by Sy Fliegel, if you are in public schools.
5 stars (What a pity) - You will not find a better, sounder book on leadership than this one and yet... it will not gain the wide readership it deserves. Wooden's emphasis on selflessness, self-control, making the team the star is an idea whose time has come and gone and sorely needs to come back. This is a great book that will be read by the people who need it less and ignored by the people who need it more and who WE need to have read this for everyone's sake.
I think every player that has been touched and shaped by John Wooden owes it to him and themselves to "pay it forward" to the people in their lives. Wooden's message needs to go on after him.5 stars (Wooden Does It Again) - Coach Wooden shares his philosophy of LIFE -- that just happens to be a coaching theory -- that WORKS.
This book is a great Gift for young people who enjoy sports -- not just basketball.
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