John Wooden’s Formula for Success
Joseph Feibel – January 13, 2018
John Wooden had begun coaching in 1936, and it took 30 years to get to the top. Once at the top, he could not be pushed off. He won 10 national championships, and came within one game of probably winning an 11th. Nobody else had done it before, and nobody else will do it again.
He wound up at UCLA because of a fluke: bad weather and a broken telephone connection. He stayed there because the job he really wanted, the head coaching position at Purdue, he could not get without breaking his contract, meaning breaking his word. He stuck to his guns. He continued to improve his coaching abilities, and he focused on the fundamentals in his practice sessions. All of his team members talked about those practice sessions. He believed that victories were achieved by constant practice and constant repetition of the fundamentals.
He became famous for his pyramid of success. He became famous for his incomparable coaching record. He became famous as a public lecturer. They even invited him to give a TED speech.
It was not just that he was successful. It was that his success had repeatedly hinged on seemingly small ethical decisions. He kept his word, which means he stuck to his guns. It was his willingness to abide by his ethical principles, coupled with his dedication to his job, which made him a success.
But there was something else. He did not regard coaching basketball as his calling. He regarded the teaching of ethics as his calling. That was why he developed his pyramid of success. He taught ethics in a practical way, and he taught it to very practical people: top-flight athletes who wanted to win. He always told them this: “Be gracious to the people you meet on the way up, because you are going to meet them again on the way down.”
He coached teams to play balanced basketball, emphasizing both offense and defense, and he taught young men to live balanced lives.
He coined some great aphorisms. Here is a list: