Sunday, July 26, 2009

THOUGHTS FROM COACH KRZYZEWSKI

In a Coach Mike Krzyzewski mood today -- here are a few quotes from the head coach of our Gold Medal Winning USA Basketball Team:

COMMUNICATION
"Effective teamwork begins and ends with communication."

"Communication does not always occur naturally, even among a tight-knit group of individuals. Communication must be taught and practiced in order to bring everyone together as one."

PEOPLE
"Making shots counts, but not as much as the people who make them."

"A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on "x's and o's" as compared to time spent learning about people."

LEADERSHIP
"Leaders show respect for people by giving them time."

"Leaders should be reliable without being predictable. They should be consistent without being anticipated."

"A leader has to be positive about all things that happen to his team. Look at nothing in the past as failure."

"In leadership, there are no words more important than trust. In any organization, trust must be developed among every member of the team if success is going to be achieved."

"When a leader takes responsibility for his own actions and mistakes, he not only sets a good example, he shows a healthy respect for people on his team."

"Leaders have to give time for relationships. But more demands will be placed on their time as they become more successful. So if a person’s success is based on developing relationships, then they have to continually find new ways of getting it done."

"Every leader needs to remember that a healthy respect for authority takes time to develop. It’s like building trust. You don’t instantly have trust, it has to be earned."

"In leadership, there are no words more important than trust. In any organization, trust must be developed among every member of the team if success is going to be achieved."

TEAM
"During the season, your team should be led with exuberance and excitement. You should live the journey. You should live it right. You should live it together. You should live it shared. You should try to make one another better. You should get on one another if somebody’s not doing their part. You should hug one another when they are. You should be disappointed in a loss and exhilarated in a win. It’s all about the journey."

For a more complete list of quotes from Coach K, visit his site:
http://www.coachk.com/quotes.php