Wooden on Leadership Term Paper

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John Wooden's Pyramid Of Success In Business

"Wooden has been called the greatest college coach in history thanks to a long list of accomplishments, including a record 10 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship titles. But for him, it's not about the number of wins and losses: It's about how the game is played," says Kristen Edelhauser of Entrepreneur (Edelhauser, 2007, 1). He was truly one of the greatest coaches that ever lived, not only for his victories but also for his stance on leadership within the competitive sport. His design for successful leadership comes from his pyramid of success, which was tinkered with over generations of his experience in the coaching world. Yet, today this pyramid can live on within the business context, as parts of it can be used in order to create the greatest success within modern business aspects.

Wooden's Strategy

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success includes 15 steps that gear the individual towards success. According to Wooden, "success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of becoming" (Coach Wooden, 2013). Thus his steps are meant to take the individual into a place of peace and self-satisfaction based on competency and skills. He builds his peer amid from the most basic of concepts, with industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, and enthusiasm as the foundation for potential success within a group setting. Then, "from this, he builds a foundation of success based on 15 core traits, including factors like skills, team spirit, loyalty, cooperation, and enthusiasm. The key is that all of the traits are required to achieve competitive greatness, not just a few" (Adler, 2006). The top elements of the pyramid include condition, skill, team spirit, poise, confidence, and finally complete greatness which is where you "perform at your best when your best is required.
Your best is required each day" (Coach Wooden, 2013). The aim of the peer amid is meant to increase the motivation and capabilities of individual members of a team. It worked wonderfully for his leadership within competitive basketball, but can also be used for many other purposes.

Relevance in Business Today

There is a large extent to which John Wooden's Pyramid of Success fits today's business environment. It can help establish the basic necessities of teamwork within an organization, as well is provide an individual with a model in which to reach the most productive state that individual can attain. According to the research, "but, as his players have found out, the Pyramid of Success isn't just applicable to basketball -- it's also relevant to the business world, marriage and even health struggles" (Edelhauser, 2007, 2). They can also be used to translate into both small and large enterprise business organizations. Since it covers most all of the bases for both individuals and teams, it can be translated into a number of industries in order to help point the way for individuals and groups to achieve success in their various objectives and goals within a business context. Here the research suggests that "as an entrepreneur or small business owner, you must have patience, and you must believe. But, you must also have skills, and you have to realize you're going to have to work at whatever it is you're hoping to attain." (Edelhauser, 2007, 2). Wooden's pyramid illustrates how to achieve that patience while also building skills and motivation that will allow the business to succeed. It is true that "the pinnacle -- Competitive Greatness -- that is a tough but….....

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