Page 25 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Introduction
While it didn’t happen overnight, the wisdom of his words even- 7
tually sunk in and became part of me. I gradually disciplined my-
self and later the teams I taught, coached, and led—the Dayton,
Kentucky, Greendevils, the South Bend Central Bears, the Indiana
State Sycamores, and the UCLA Bruins—to focus on and worry
about only those things we controlled, namely, getting as good as
we could get, striving to reach the ultimate of our capabilities both
mentally and physically.
Whether that might, or did, result in outscoring our oppo-
nent—“winning the race”—was something I didn’t lose much sleep
over. I tried hard to teach those under my supervision to do the
same, to understand that success was within their reach, regardless
of the score, standings, or opinion of others (especially the opinion
of others).
Make no mistake: We all want to win the race. Whether in bas-
ketball, business, or another competitive arena, victory can be
glorious.
Losing is painful—at times, most harsh. I still hurt when I think
back to a loss our Martinsville high school team suffered during the
last seconds of the finals of an Indiana State Basketball Tourna-
ment. That was more than 75 years ago, and it still hurts when I
recall it.
But ultimately, to my way of thinking, losing is not the end of
the world, nor does victory put me on top of it—not even a na-
tional championship. There is something beyond, something even
greater than winning the race.