Lessons From Five Coaching Legends



John Wooden
Never mistake activity for achievement. The legendary UCLA basketball coach, who won 10 NCAA championships, would do well today in a world with endless email and tweets. His Pyramid of Success is timeless. And so is this maxim. Busyness does not equal business.


Tom Coughlin
Be willing to change. When Coughlin joined the New York Giants as head coach in 2004, he demanded players show up for meetings and practices five minutes early. Otherwise he fined them. This earned him the nickname "Colonel Coughlin." However, the hard line approach didn't work initially and only when he fully changed, did the Giants go on to great success, winning two Super Bowls in dramatic fashion.



Bill Belichick
Ignore the noise. Do your job. It's hard to argue with the success of "the hooded one." Two of his maxims are "ignore the noise" and "do your job." Simple, yet effective. And his players not only repeat these mantras, but they live them as well.



Phil Jackson
Have a simple system and follow it. Phil Jackson won 11 NBA titles with a dedication to a system of play called the Triangle Offense. Part of the appeal, despite its critics, is that it’s very simple.



Joe Torre
Win and lose with grace. The Hall of Fame manager won, in part, because he was a class act. Tony LaRussa, a competitor who knows a thing or two about success too, said of Torre: "Tip your cap when you get beat, but when you win, you don’t show anybody up."
--Adapted from linkedin.com

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