Page 235 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Don’t Look at the Scoreboard

ON WOODEN 217

Dave Meyers: UCLA Varsity; 1973–1975;
two national championships

WIN,WIN,WIN? NO, NO, NO.
I retired from the pros when I was 26 after being drafted by
Los Angeles as part of a trade that sent me to Milwaukee. On
the first day of practice there, I think I heard the “F” word
150 times. Quite a change from Coach Wooden. But that
wasn’t the only change—just the most inconsequential.
As a pro, absolutely nothing else mattered but winning. If
you missed a shot or made a mistake, you were made to feel
so bad about it because all eyes were on the scoreboard. Win-
ning was all that mattered and all anybody talked about:
“We’ve gotta win this game,” or “We shoulda won that
game,” or “How can we win the next game?” Win. Win. Win.
Coach Wooden didn’t talk about winning—ever. His mes-
sage was to give the game the best you’ve got. “That’s the
goal,” he would tell us. “Do that and you should be happy. If
enough of you do it, our team will be a success.” He teaches
this, he believes it, and he taught me to believe it.
Winning was not mentioned, ever—only the effort, the
preparation, doing what it takes to bring out our best in prac-
tice and games. Let winning take care of itself.
When I was a senior playing forward at UCLA, none of the
experts really thought we’d do much. The Walton Gang—Bill
Walton, Keith Wilkes, and others—had just graduated after
winning two national championships and extending a streak