Chester Elton

Last week, Coach John R. Wooden passed away at the ripe old age of 99. He was known as the “Wizard of Westwood” and the holder of 10 NCAA Basketball titles over a 12 year span, a feat that will not likely ever be repeated. But more than a great coach John Wooden was a great man. He inspired good character on and off the court.

I recently spoke to Lynn Guerin if Guerin Marketing that teaches Wooden’s Coaching for Life course. Lynn shared several stories of Coach Wooden with me and reviewed his three basic rules for the teams he coached.

Here is Coach Wooden’s Rule of Three:

1) Be on time
2) Don’t swear
3) Don’t criticize a teammate

So simple and so easy to understand.

1) Being on time shows respect for the team and the coach.
2) No swearing came from his history as an English teacher. Swearing was a sign of a poor education and disrespect. If you swore in practice you came off the floor. If you swore in a game you came off the floor, no matter what the situation or your talent, you were done.
3) Don’t criticize a teammate meant all were there to encourage, not to tear down. Players learned to be supportive, not destructive.

Basketball has lost a legend, but I hope his simple teachings will live on forever. Thanks, Coach, for great advice, a great example and a legacy that we can all aspire to have in our own lives. You will be missed, but you will be remembered.

Yes, it’s a commercial, but what a great point.
   
Business aside, when is the last time you recognized the most important people in your life?
   
Don’t miss this chance to tell the people closest to you that you love them. No one can hear it enough and it never gets old. It will make whoever gets the roses feel great – and you won’t feel so bad yourself.

“The Carrot Principle,“ Garrett the Carrot, and yours truly were all featured in the Holy Cross Soccer newsletter recently. Here are a few photos and some news from them. Enjoy!

Those of you who attended our Holy Cross Soccer Mentoring Night will remember the “Carrot Principle” award that was won by freshman Steven Stefanak (see below) for best representing the mission of the spring semester training segment: continuous development and improvement toward proficiency.  It’s hard to forget that giant carrot that he walked away with.  Pictured to the left of the photo (in orange) is my friend Chester Elton, the co-author of The Carrot Principle, who donated the (predictably) orange goalkeeper jerseys that were worn by our goalkeepers in games this season.  We were really pleased that Chester and his son Carter could join us as well.

I was thinking about my Grandfather Tanner the other day and about some of the things he taught me.

When I was just a kid, my mum used to take me to go visit her parents at the Park Royal Towers in West Vancouver. It was always fun because Grandpa had so many stories to tell me. He lived such an interesting life and had travelled the world so I was eager to hear about his past adventures as well as his opinions of the day in politics and business.

Now, Grandpa Tanner was a classic. He was a rancher lawyer in Alberta Canada and, as you can see from the photo, he loved his horses and his independence. As we would sit there in his den playing cards—Grandpa loved to play whist—he would impart little buts of wisdom to me. One that really stuck in my mind was when he said, “You don’t really know someone until you work with them. And you can never really love someone until you have served them.”

It left quite an impression on me at such a young age, that when we work and serve each other we learn to know and love each other.

Much the same in business, the best leaders are those that serve the people that work with and for them. That’s where deep relationships are built and where great teams are formed as we work and serve with each other.

Grandpa Tanner he was a pretty smart guy.

In a recent conference that I attended in Los Angeles for Select Staffing, one of the largest temporary companies in the world, I heard Paul Sorenson, president of Select, share with his leadership team the tenants of leadership from General MacArthur. I thought I would share them with you; they are very thought provoking.

John Gardner, in his book On Leadership described Douglas MacArthur as a brilliant strategist, a farsighted administrator, and flamboyant to his fingertips. MacArthur developed a list of questions to guide him in his leadership duties. These principles can be applied to any leadership situation.

  Do I heckle my subordinates or strengthen and encourage them?

  Do I use moral courage in getting rid of subordinates who have proven themselves beyond doubt to be unfit?

  Have I done all in my power by encouragement, incentive and spur to salvage the weak and erring?

  Do I know by NAME and CHARACTER a maximum number of subordinates for whom I am responsible? Do I know them intimately?

  Am I thoroughly familiar with the technique, necessities, objectives and administration of my job?

  Do I lose my temper at individuals?

  Do I act in such a way as to make my subordinates WANT to follow me?

  Do I delegate tasks that should be mine?

  Do I arrogate everything to myself and delegate nothing?

  Do I develop my subordinates by placing on each one as much responsibility as he can stand?

  Am I interested in the personal welfare of each of my subordinates, as if he were a member of my family?

  Have I the calmness of voice and manner to inspire confidence, or am I inclined to irascibility and excitability?

  Am I a constant example to my subordinates in character, dress, deportment and courtesy?

  Am I inclined to be nice to my superiors and mean to my subordinates?

  Is my door open to my subordinates?

  Do I think more of POSITION than JOB?

  Do I correct a subordinate in front of others?