Wooden On Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization

“For most of my life I have believed that success is found in the running of the race. How you run the race—your planning, preparation, practice, and performance—counts for everything. Winning or losing is a by-product, an aftereffect, of that effort. For me, it’s the quality of your effort that counts most and offers the greatest and most long-lasting satisfaction.”

One of Wooden’s primary beliefs concerning winning is that effort and getting the most out of your ability are the only things that matter. It is a point that he reiterates throughout the book. He also refers to a quote from Miguel de Cervantes to make this point—“the journey is better than the inn” (8). What he means by this is that the joy comes from pushing yourself “to the outward limits of your ability” (8).

“Reputation is what others perceive you as being, and their opinion may be right or wrong. Character, however, is what you really are, and nobody truly knows that but you.”

In this passage, Wooden refers to his 1959-1960 basketball season at UCLA. While the team ended the season with only a 14-12 record, he considered them a great success because they got the most from their ability. His point is that nobody thought of that team as a successful one except themselves, and that was all that mattered.

“I believe there is no more powerful leadership tool than your own personal example. In almost every way the team ultimately becomes a reflection of their leader. For me, I wanted that reflection to be mirrored in the Pyramid of Success. I attempted to reach it mainly by my own example.”

In Chapter 1, Wooden describes his famous pyramid of success, the diagram he constructed early in his coaching career that contains all the characteristics and personal values that lead to success. While he admits that his pyramid is not the sole reason that UCLA won so many championships, he does argue that it played a very important role.