Page 59 - How to Create a Winning Organization

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THE HEART OF THE PYRAMID

“In the end, the choice you make makes you.”

eporters often asked me: “Do you have a formula for
Rteaching basketball, Coach Wooden, a system?” My answer
was, and is, succinct: “Yes: condition, fundamentals, and unity.” It
was a formula I learned from Ward “Piggy” Lambert, the remark-
able Purdue basketball leader whose influence on me as a person,
player, and coach was so enduring. Coach Lambert’s formula, in
expanded form, became the heart of my Pyramid of Success.
Ward Lambert was a revolutionary who was, in part, responsible
for changing the way the game of basketball was played. His influ-
ence is still felt today, first and foremost, in modern basketball’s fast
style of play. Coach Lambert loved speed. However, in his early days
the basketball was bigger and the game slower, not far after the era
in which a jump ball followed every single field goal. It was start and
stop, scores were low, and shots few and far between. Coach Lam-
bert was one who challenged and changed this old style of basketball.
He taught us to compete at a furious pace with no stalling, time-
outs, or slowdowns: Get the ball; run the ball; shoot the ball. Then
get the ball again and do it all over again. He made us do this over
and over throughout every practice and game.

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