Life and Leadership Secrets from Legendary NCAA Coach John Wooden

UCLA's John Wooden, the "Wizard of Westwood," is the most acclaimed basketball coach in the history of the NCAA. His teams won 10 National Championships including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. At one point, his teams had a record winning streak of 88 consecutive games. They had four perfect 30-0 seasons. He also coached such superstars as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

Wooden called his system The Pyramid of Success.

Here are the six major elements of the Pyramid, along with strategies for tapping into them...

1. Industriousness

Wooden neither fostered nor condoned workaholism. He believed it led to burnout. Industriousness is more a function of focus than of time.

Wooden's basketball teams had the shortest practice sessions in the NCAA, lasting only 90 minutes. Two-and-a-half to three hours is typical for other teams. Thanks to Wooden's inspiration, the players made each second matter.

To improve industriousness...

Keep meticulous records of your work. Wooden kept careful notes about every practice session. This strict attention to detail allowed him to maximize his efforts by comparing what his team was doing at the identical point in past seasons. He used that insight to plan upcoming practices.

Make meetings productive. Everyone participated during Wooden's staff meetings. These always started on time and rarely lasted more than one hour. Wooden divided each meeting into three equal parts...

Brainstorming. A fast-paced, free-flowing examination of problems, opportunities and solutions. He solicited input from everyone.

Prioritization. The team broke into groups to clarify vague ideas and determine what should be put into action. Groups changed at each meeting.

Planning. Everyone left with clarity about their next steps.

Each meeting ended with recognition and appreciation for the team's efforts.

2. Enthusiasm

Wooden said that an average team is willing to give its best... a great team is eager to do so. To promote enthusiasm...

Find meaning in fundamentals. Connect mundane tasks to the larger success picture.

Example: Each season, Wooden lectured his players on how to put on their socks. The new players couldn't believe their legendary coach spent time on such trivia. But sore feet compromised performance. Over time, the players came to appreciate such detail.

Learn constantly -- no matter how well you are doing.

Example: Every off-season, Wooden selected a basketball topic to study for the next six months. Refining his knowledge reenergized Wooden for the new season.

3. Determination

Determination in the face of adversity is the ability to pursue goals actively even when prospects for success seem dim.

When you think of Wooden's unparalleled record, it's easy to forget that he coached at the college level for 18 years before he won his first championship.

He told his players that their greatest challenge wasn't their opponents or the limitations of their talent -- but their own self-doubt.

To master determination...

Ask questions that fill you with positive expectation, rather than those that engender doubt or fear.

Example: In the 1967–1968 season, the NCAA banned dunk shots. It was widely believed that the change was instituted to lessen UCLA's star center Abdul-Jabbar's dominance on the court. Wooden insisted that Abdul-Jabbar see the ruling as an opportunity to build his other skills. That season, Abdul-Jabbar perfected his famous hook shot, which made him more valuable when he went pro.

If you find yourself asking doubting questions, such as Will this work?, put a positive twist on your self-talk -- How will I make this work?

4. Alertness

Alertness boosts creativity. To keep your brain sharp...

Be fully present when listening to someone. When your mind drifts, you miss information and the speaker senses your distance. Don't tune out the speaker's final sentence to formulate your response. Listen until the very end.

Take a breath before responding. Your conversation partner will be more receptive to what you say.

Focus on what's useful. Each of us has a Reticular Activating System (RAS) -- a cluster of cells at the base of the brain that helps filter out unnecessary stimuli and enables us to focus on information of interest.

Example: As soon as you have selected a new car to buy, you suddenly notice that type of car everywhere you go.

To engage your RAS to help with a problem, imagine your desired outcome.

Warning: The RAS works both ways. If you become fixated on what you don't want, your RAS focuses on information that confirms your fears. That's why you must not dwell on problems.

5. Confidence

Confidence is the knowledge that everything works out for the best when you are free to be yourself and others are free to be themselves.

Wooden noticed that his players were often full of doubt. He strove to build on moments of confidence they could carry with them, regardless of the situation.

To build confidence...

Use anchoring. Anchors are triggers for conditioned emotional responses. Use them to inspire yourself at challenging times. How it works...

Write a brief description of five to 10 personal victories. List a few emotionally charged words to express your feelings about each victory.

Create a physical anchor for your personal victories. For example, some of Wooden's players would think of their game-winning baskets and clench their right fists. Strengthen the anchor with additional elements, such as imagining the roar of the crowd or exclaiming in an inner voice, Yes!

Reread your personal victory descriptions. Visualize each event as if it were actually happening. When you feel your emotions surge, invoke your physical anchor. Whenever you need a confidence boost, repeat a favorite trigger three times.

6. Competiveness Greatness

Wooden believed that his players could accomplish only so much through talent and effort. To soar beyond that, they had to change their narrow definition of success. Wooden encouraged players to see success as peace of mind, available every day and in need of replenishing. To achieve competitive greatness...

View your competition not as a threat, but as a catalyst for your talent, energy and determination. The greater the efforts of your opponents, the more you derive from the challenge.

Devote yourself to a purpose that reaches beyond you. Sure, Wooden's players wanted to win. But they had loftier goals as well -- they wanted to secure UCLA's place in history and improve themselves as human beings.

All the success!

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