Page 35 - How to Create a Winning Organization

The Pyramid of Success

best? These questions were not asked, even though they are the 17
most relevant.
The behavior of those parents in Dayton prompted me to de-
fine, declare, and write down a fair and productive measurement
of success—a grading system for all that truly does produce the best
of which individuals are capable.

DIRECTIONS TO THE DESTINATION
Success—peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction
in knowing you did the best of which you are capable—became the
stated objective or destination for those I was teaching and coach-
ing. A destination is meaningless, however, without directions on
how to get there.
How do you achieve success? In 1933 I didn’t have the answer.
Moreover, I knew that just having the answer was insufficient. A
method of instruction would be needed to help me teach the qual-
ities I deemed necessary for success.
Consequently, I began searching for a teaching tool that was
tangible—something you could see, study, and follow as clearly as
a map. Those things we can see tend to be more meaningful and
memorable than objects we just hear about.
Glenn Curtis, my high school basketball coach at Martinsville,
Indiana, was an exceptional motivator who used everything from
poetry to pep talks to stimulate his players. Occasionally, he would
even produce an old cardboard poster on which he had drawn a
ladder with five or six rungs.