Be Quick - But Don't Hurry: Finding Success in the Teachings of a LifetimeBe Quick, But Don't Hurry presents the team-building management secrets of the greatest coach of the twentieth century, cloaked in the heartwarming tale of the reluctant protege who learned those secrets in spite of himself. Perhaps the least controversial sports honor in living memory was the selection of John Wooden as "Coach of the Century" by ESPN, honoring his ten NCAA basketball championships in a twelve-year stretch. His UCLA teams won with great centers and with small lineups, with superstars and with team effort, always with quickness, always with class. Wooden was a teacher first and foremost, and his lessons -- taught on the basketball court, but applicable throughout one's life -- are summarized in his famed Pyramid of Success. Andrew Hill was one of the lucky young men who got to learn from Wooden in his favored classroom -- though that is hardly how Hill would have described it at the time. An all-city high school player in Los Angeles, Hill played -- a little -- on three national champions, from 1970 to 1972. Hill was left embittered by his experience at UCLA; he was upset at how unequally Wooden treated his starting players and his substitutes. Hill went on to a successful career in television, rising to the presidency of CBS Productions, where he was responsible for the success of such popular series as Touched by an Angel and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Hill's job required him to manage many creative people, with the egos and insecurities that usually go along with such talents. And one day, some twenty-five years after he graduated, he was hit with the realization that everything he knew about getting the best out of people he had learned directly from Coach John Wooden. With no small trepidation, Hill picked up the phone to call and thank his old coach and unexpected mentor. To his surprise, Wooden greeted him warmly and enthusiastically. A strong friendship, sealed in frequent visits and conversations, ensued, and endures. Be Quick -- But Don't Hurry! tells the story of that friendship. But it also shares the lessons and secrets that Hill learned from Coach Wooden, which hold the key to managing creatively in the idea-driven economy of the twenty-first century. Among those lessons are: -The team with the best players almost always wins -Be quick, but don't hurry: there is never enough time to be sure (and if you are sure, you're probably too late), but you must always keep your balance -Failing to prepare is preparing to fail -The team that makes the most mistakes...wins! Full of sound advice and warm reminiscence, Be Quick -- But Don't Hurry! is the management book of a lifetime. |
Contents
Game Time Is When the Coachs Job Is Almost Over | 101 |
A Great Leader Cannot Worry About Being Well Liked | 105 |
Great Leaders Give Credit to Others but Accept the Blame Themselves | 111 |
Seek ConsistencyAvoid Peaks and Valleys | 115 |
Fairness Is Giving All People the Treatment | 119 |
Teamwork Is Not a Preference Its a Necessity | 136 |
Adjust to Your PlayersDont Expect Them | 151 |
Afterword | 187 |
Other editions - View all
Be Quick - But Don't Hurry: Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime Andrew Hill No preview available - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
actually All-American Andy Angeles athletic balance ball basketball team bench better Bill Walton Bobby Knight boss called Chuck Coach Wooden creative Denny Crum effort executives expected fact fast break feel felt focus former players Gail Goodrich goal going hard Heitz Henry Bibby high school hope Joe Lando John Ecker John Vallely John Wooden Kareem Abdul-Jabbar keep ketball knew leader learned lessons look managers meeting mistakes movie national championship NCAA never opponent organization Pauley Pavilion play practice pretty Pyramid quick quick-but don't hurry recruiting role rules script season SECRET seemed sense shot Sidney Wicks simply spent star started Steve Steve Patterson success Superchicken sure Swen Swen Nater talented talk teacher teaching teammates teamwork television things thought tion tough UCLA basketball understand Walt Hazzard wanted watch young