Page 176 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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and Coach Lambert racing right alongside us barking out instruc-
tions on what we needed to do to improve our performance.
I also had the privilege of watching Notre Dame’s legendary
football coach Frank Leahy conduct practices while I was a high
school coach at South Bend, Indiana, near Notre Dame. Although
he allowed very few outsiders into his practices, I was fortunate
enough to be invited. What I saw was a leader who had become a
master at organizing time efficiently. He also, of course, paid at-
tention to details—lots of attention to pertinent details. Coach
Leahy, like Coach Lambert, didn’t waste a single second, and it
made a very strong and lasting impression on me.
Both these coaches created winning organizations that won na-
tional championships. It was very clear that one of the primary rea-
sons they succeeded was their highly efficient use of time. I saw a
very direct connection between success—achievement—and the
intelligent use of time.
For many years, I also was forced to improve my “clock man-
agement” skills by teaching English classes. I vividly remember the
challenge of trying to teach grammar, Shakespeare, spelling, poetry,
and more in the short hour of each day’s class during the semester.
To be effective, I had to go into the classroom with a carefully
crafted plan each day—one that was a microcosm of a longer and
equally precise curriculum. I learned a great deal about using time
effectively when given the challenge of teaching Hamlet to high
school students. My skills in managing in class carried over directly
to the court, as I incorporated the ideas and style of coaches Leahy,
Lambert, and others I observed over the years.

DON’T MISTAKE ACTIVITY
FOR ACHIEVEMENT
To help me reach the same high level of efficiency—productivity—
in teaching basketball that I had in the classroom, I began using small