Leading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life
Author: Mike Krzyzewski, Donald T. Phillips
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0446526266
Publisher: Warner Books (15 January, 2000)
Sales Rank: 6,394
Average Customer Rating: 4.19 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Simply phenomenal
One of the few "good guys" in college basketball, Coach K always seems to have two things in common that are usually mutually exclusive in college sports - a superlative record of winning & more importantly, a superlative family atmosphere. Too many times in both college and in business we hear of two types of coaches and managers - the overly soft players coach or the motivate by fear authoritarian type. Seldom have we seen a coach succeed at such a high level who, through a tireless work ethic, has engendered such indelible values as trust, personal responsibility, honesty, teamwork, the ability to laugh at one's mistakes, selflessness, & a genuine love for those on your team as if they were your family. This is, as opposed to a memoir, a leadership book - one that everyone who has followed Duke would enjoy and learn from. Coach K reveals his secrets to motivating players, his core values, how to deal with adversity, how to maintain a level of excellence, & what it takes to get to the top - in sports, business, and in life. Coach K chronicles humorous and educational anecdotal stories with his players such as Chris Collins, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Elton Brand, Jeff Capel, Danny Ferry, Trajan Langdon, Wojo, Johnny Dawkins, & Shane Battier to name a few that helped mold them into not only great players on the court, but more importantly, great leaders off of the court. The audio version is especially poignant and well read.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Valuable Resource
Duke Basketball is a phenomenon among college sports. Under coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke has three National Championships, six National Players of the Year, and nine Final Four appearances.
Krzyzewski has been named an 11-time national coach of the year and boasts an overall 637-227 record. The success of Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils is almost unparallel.
So what makes a team like Duke dominate? Coach K suggests in Leading With the Heart that success, whether on the court or off, comes through basic principles. He goes on, stating how the way he runs his basketball team, could be adapted to an office setting, committees, and for life in general.
Former Duke player who defined success, Grant Hill, appropriately wrote the foreward. Hill explained his admiration for Krzyzewski, accrediting much of his life success to the bond they shared. Hill said he chose Duke when he heard one of Krzyzewski's then-graduating seniors speak of the values his coach had taught him. These included: "commitment, toughness, honesty, integrity, collective responsibility, pride, love, and friendship."
Leading With the Heart suggests that many of these qualities are essential to being successful. Coach K states that "communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride" are five values that "make every team great." These represent what Coach K calls the "fist"-where the fingers also represent the members of the team. The characteristics and members form the team's identity and "any one fist can break any one finger" so all of the fingers or team players must work together.
The fist can also be adapted to a business situation. Every group, whether athletic or professional have goals and must work together to achieve these goals. Krzyzewski uses the fist to teach his winning principles, which add up to teamwork.
Although hard work is critical to be successful, Coach K also attributes most of his success to friendship, where he states, "friendships, along with love, make life worth living." Throughout the entire book, Coach K suggests many times how important being a good person with likable qualities is in society. For one thing, Duke Basketball players are friends on and off the court. Coach K believes this is important for the overall health of the team. But most importantly, players come back to Duke because of the relationship they have established with their coach. Coach K keeps relationships with his players long after they graduate. Numerous players come back to coach and to take in a few games from Coach K court, if they are not playing in the professional leagues themselves.
Success is not just the product you make, but what lingers around afterwards. Krzyzewski has life-lasting relationships with his players, which in many situations would outweigh the success on the basketball court.
If applied properly with the right attitude, the ideals in Leading With the Heart can be used in almost any situation. Although a college basketball fan can appreciate the book more, it has valuable assets for anyone involved in any type of organization.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Very Motivational!
Let me first preface this by saying I'm a huge Duke fan...
now, let me tell you that if you are in any position of leadership, this is a must-read! Coach K's outlook on leadership is very positive and easy to work into any type of job. I even found things to use while teaching 2nd graders!
If you are anti-Duke, you may be put off to references to past players, but the leadership ideas are so valuable! If you have ever read Pat Riley's book on leadership and enjoyed it, you will definitely enjoy this one!! Similar Products
Beyond Success: The 15 Secrets to Effective Leadership and Life Based on Legendary Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success
Success Is a Choice : Ten Steps to Overachieving in Business and Life
Book Index