Page 56 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
38
You’ll do well to remember this bit of verse by Philip Paul Bliss:

Dare to be Daniel!
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have purpose firm,
Dare to make it known.

That poem could be entitled Initiative. Without this block of
the Pyramid, you will soon be passed by the competition whose
leader has the courage of his convictions and the will to act on
them—a leader with Initiative.

INTENTNESS
Intentness is as important as any single block in my Pyramid. With-
out it you will falter, fade, and quit. I chose the word Intentness to
convey diligence and determi-
“The one who once most wisely said,
nation, fortitude and resolve—
‘Be sure you’re right, then go ahead.’
persistence. All these traits are
Might well have added this to it,
present in great leaders.
‘Be sure you are wrong before you quit.’”
And what is so remarkable is
—Anon.
that when Intentness exists in
you, it also exists in your organization. Unfortunately, the reverse
is also true. A leader lacking Intentness will find himself or herself
leading a team intent on giving up.
Intentness also implies a firm resolve to stay the course over the
long term rather than meandering all over the place in bursts of
short-lived activity. Intentness keeps you in the game even when
others tell you the game is over. The game is over only when the
leader declares it so.
Good things take time, usually lots of time. Achieving worth-
while goals requires Intentness. There are setbacks, losses, unex-