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Wisdom from The Wizard of Westwood Winning Basketball by Working SMART |
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John Wooden (a.k.a. The Wizard of Westwood) is arguably the most successful coach in the history of college basketball. I recently gained new insight into his brilliance from a friend who was privileged to witness The Wizard at work at a routine practice session during his glory years at UCLA.
Beginning
with The End in Mind Wooden's final practice assignment for his players was a simple exercise in free throw shooting. Players were permitted to end their practice session after making ten successive free throws. On that particular day, UCLA's All-America point guard, Henry Bibby was the first player to stroll off the court to the comfort of the locker room and a warm shower. He completed the assignment with perfect, ten for ten efficiency.
Successful basketball coaches know that free throw success frequently determines the outcome of a game. Many coaches routinely require their players to shoot 100 free throws at every practice. Is this a more effective approach than Wooden's? Would Henry Bibby have been a better player if he was required to shoot 100 free throws daily instead or just those ten? Which measurement is the more effective?
The Wisdom John Wooden's wizardry in this example lies in his understanding of the difference between activity and achievement. While Wooden's competitors focused on the activity of shooting, UCLA's players focused on the desired result. When the desired result was achieved (consistent, repeatable success), the players were instantly rewarded. Coach Wooden's record speaks for itself. His players established habits of excellence.
How can you apply this subtle, yet powerful wisdom to personal and organizational achievement throughout your organization? In how many organizations do you see managers routinely working twelve hour days? Is their focus on taking one hundred shots or making ten? Is there an unwritten rule that no one leaves work before the boss? Do you have sales people shooting hundreds of shots at unqualified accounts? As you look at all of these examples, is your organizational focus on taking one hundred shots or making ten? How have you valued activity over achievement? Could you become vulnerable to a superior competitor, like John Wooden? Are there Henry Bibbys in your organization whose star potential is being squandered by requirements for unfocused activity? At what cost? Do you reward those who take their 100 shots the same as those who efficiently go ten-for-ten?
Epilogue Wooden's All-American protégé, Henry Bibby, has learned to apply the lessons learned from The Wizard. Bibby, served as head basketball coach at USC for eight seasons, is considered by many as the most successful coach in USC's history. Henry's son, Mike, now plays with the Sacramento Kings in the NBA after a successful college career at Arizona.
John Wooden, 93 years young, lives in Los Angeles. The John R. Wooden Award is college basketball's most prestigious honor. Special thanks to Dan Dalberg for sharing his UCLA eyewitness account and inspiring this article. | |
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Tom Lemanski is the president of Vista Development of Kildeer, IL. He is a facilitator of strategic business planning and the organizational and personal development of positive leadership behaviors in executives, managers and sales professionals.
Vista Development helps growth orientated organizations to significantly boost their profits by working SMART.
Email your comments and feedback to: tom@vista-development.com |
