Page 268 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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all of the information I had reviewed, because some of it was help-
ful in reminding me of certain situations that we might face again.
For example, some officials might be tougher on calling fouls than
others; some arenas (and the fans) are more challenging for a visit-
ing team; I wanted to know if UCLA had problems with games that
were played on the road, or at night, or on a particular day of the
week—Friday or Saturday.
I think accurate and detailed record keeping is most important
in leadership. I was always looking for clues that would help us im-
prove individually and as a team. To help me accomplish this, I also
kept extensive and detailed accounts of practices and games. My
No. 2 yellow pencil was used even more than my whistle.
The page you see here is for the 1963–1964 season, which
produced UCLA’s first national basketball championship and a
30–0 record. Its format is similar to those of previous seasons
and shows the kind of specific facts I reviewed at the beginning
of the year.

INOCULATING AGAINST INFECTION
UCLA won the NCAA national championship in 1964 and 1965.
At the start of the 1966 season I wrote this brief note to myself—
an urgent reminder to teach a very important lesson to the return-
ing squad.