Page 246 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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As a coach and leader I tried hard to avoid letting those things I
couldn’t control affect the things I could control. In more than nine
decades I have yet to control fate. Neither have you, I’m sure.
Prepare to the utmost of your ability; teach your team to do the
same. Ignore the fates with the sure knowledge that adversity will
only make you and your team stronger if you resist self-pity. How
you handle bad luck, setbacks, and the vagaries of the competitive
environment is one of the major differences between the champion
and the also-ran. Be a realistic optimist and remind yourself that
things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things
turn out.

RULES TO LEAD BY

Always Assume Adversity.
All leaders and organizations are blind-sided by bad luck and mis-
fortune in various ways at various times. The best leaders understand
this and are seldom thrown off stride when it occurs. They recognize
the opportunity it presents, namely, that your response can separate
you and your organization from the competition whose leader is
stunned and then disheartened when fate frowns. Expect the rough
patches and allow them to make you stronger.

Don’t Make “Woe Is Me”Your Fight Song.
Leaders cannot allow themselves to be sidetracked by self-pity. Ac-
curate self-assessment and team assessment is linked to success. This
activity is impossible when you are bogged down in feeling sorrow
for yourself, in denouncing misfortune. Make the best of what