Page 75 - How to Create a Winning Organization

The Heart of the Pyramid
me. Furthermore, my success comes not from championships, 57
but the knowledge that I did everything possible to be the best
teacher, coach, and leader I was capable of being. The quality of
that effort is where I found—and continue to find—success.
Those championships were a “by-product.”
While others will judge you strictly in relation to somebody or
something else—the final score, the bottom line, or championship—
this is neither the most demanding nor the most productive standard.
Throughout my career I did not allow others to make me adopt
their standard, their definition of what constitutes success. The
highest, purest, and most difficult standard of all, the one that ul-
timately produces one’s finest performance—and the great treasure
called “peace of mind”—is that which measures the quality of your
personal effort to reach Competitive Greatness.

That is the standard I have applied for most of my professional
life, in preparing myself and others for competition, over many
years of teaching, coaching, and leadership.
Did I succeed? Yes, but only because I can look at myself in the
mirror and honestly say, “I did my best—near 100 percent—to be-
come the best of which I was capable.” I am proud of my effort and
derive the greatest satisfaction from it. Today, when I look back
over those decades, I can hold my head high just like I wanted our
players to do when they walked off the court after a game or prac-
tice. I believe you can’t separate who you are from your leadership.
For me the foundation of my own leadership—who I am—is con-
tained in the Pyramid of Success.