Page 24 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
6
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
My dad, Joshua Hugh Wooden, was a good man with strong con-
victions and gentle ways. Self-educated through reading, he passed
his love of learning along to his four boys. He was very proud that
all of us graduated from high school, even prouder when we re-
ceived college degrees and became teachers—each one of us.
Although Dad suffered terrible setbacks and sorrows—deaths of
two daughters, loss of his beloved farm, financial hardships during
the Great Depression—he never complained, criticized, or com-
pared himself to others who were better off. Through it all he made
the best of what he had and was thankful for it. That is one of my
strongest memories of him and something I tried so hard to copy
as the years went by, both in my private life and as a teacher, coach,
and leader.
Dad wasn’t much for small talk or gossip and could play through
a whole game of checkers or chess without saying a word. How-
ever, when he did say something it was always worth hearing. He
possessed a simple wisdom, profound but extremely practical.
What he said about success—“winning the race”—was un-
common for his time and even more uncommon today. His words
are at the core of my philosophy of leadership, perhaps the single
most important concept I’ve learned and taught over the years.
“Sons,” he would tell my three brothers and me, “don’t worry
about whether you’re better than somebody else, but never cease
trying to be the best you can become. You have control over that;
the other you don’t.”
Time spent comparing myself to others, he cautioned, was time
wasted. This is a tough lesson to learn when you’re young, even
tougher when you grow up. “Johnny, work hard to get as good as you
can get,” he’d say. “Do that and you may call yourself a success. Do
less and you’ve fallen short.” I did my best to follow my dad’s advice.