Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organizaion

It was a detail that helped teach our players that sloppiness was not tolerated—in anything.

When it came to perfecting details I worked “feet first,” from the ground up. Socks? During our first team meeting I personally showed players how to put them on correctly. Shoes? We didn’t ask players what size they wore. I insisted our trainer measure each student-athlete’s foot—right and left—to ensure that newly issued sneakers fit properly. I

An individual grounded in the fundamentals has, I believe, a much higher likelihood of success when sudden change is forced upon him.

New practice uniforms, good shoes, jerseys tucked in—these things make a difference.

Coach Wooden taught that great things can only be accomplished by doing the little things right. Doing things right became a habit with us. He kept it simple. What’s more simple

From the first moment of the first day of UCLA’s season, I insisted we do things right—not almost right, but completely right. It’s an attitude, a way of conducting business. A casual approach to executing the details of a job ensures that the job will be done poorly. And then another job will be done poorly. It grows.

“Activity—to produce real results—must be organized and executed meticulously. Otherwise, it’s no different from children running around the playground at recess.”

the day-by-day particulars of how you conduct business.

accomplished. Activity must be organized with a productive purpose or goal in mind; otherwise it’s no different from what you’d see on a school’s playground—kids running around, lots of movement but little achievement.