Tag: Mike Krzyzewski

How to Breathe Life into Your Team—My Story Used from the Wall Street Journal

Written on September 12, 2014.

Editor’s Note: I thought I’d share with you a story that ran in today’s Wall Street Journal that I had a chance to experience. How do you get some of the world’s wealthiest athletes to perform—in peak form—during their summer vacation? This is USA Basketball’s eternal quandary. It is a challenge that only got tougher last month, when Paul George gruesomely broke his right leg during a Team USA scrimmage.

Achieving Greatness through Teamwork

Written on June 17, 2014.

Shane Battier’s season—and career—ended last weekend in a solemn locker room with emotions he wasn’t expecting. Battier’s Miami Heat had just lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. For Battier, this swan song of his career didn’t allow him to hold the championship trophy, but he did pick up a piece of hardware that spoke volumes about the years he’s played and what so many of his colleagues think of him. Battier...

Overcoming Epic Wins and Losses

Written on March 26, 2014.

Ask anyone in the worlds of business or sports the most important qualities for success, and their list is likely to include “hard work” and “determination.” While no one can argue the importance of both of these traits, they often tower over a value that I’ve learned can play as pivotal a role in sustaining success as any: humility. Success can blind us temporarily and subject us to various pitfalls, perhaps the...

Great Leaders Never Stop Coaching

Written on December 10, 2013.

Great leaders are magnets for praise, respect, and adoration. But the greatest leaders are those who give more praise than they get. Three examples witnessed recently: Just last month, Duke University’s head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski put his highly touted program on the court against a seemingly inferior and overmatched basketball program from the University of Vermont. While the national audience predicted...

A Greatness lesson live from Duke and Coach K!

Written on May 31, 2013.

Inner Fire They Use Adversity as Fuel I know this newsletter is about developing Greatness in our hearts and minds, but this month it is about the Greatest birthday gift I’ve ever received. As you read this today, I am in Durham, North Carolina on the campus of Duke where Coach Mike Krzyzewski is running me and a group of 79 other business people through drills on the floor at famed Cameron Indoor Stadium....

When A Loss Doesn’t Have To Be A Loss

Written on March 7, 2012.

With all due respect to my friends in Alabama, it is “The greatest rivalry in all of sports.” That’s how Dick Vitale refers to the legendary tussles between Duke and the University of North Carolina basketball teams and I agree with him. You have a private school in Duke less than fifteen miles away from a major state university in UNC. Both are perennial contenders for the national championship. UNC leads the all...