15 Best Books for Leaders

"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."

ABE LINCOLN

As a basketball coach, I have a tremendous opportunity to lead and influence people every day.  Certainly leadership involves a great many things, however, I have found that constantly learning and re-learning methods, strategies, and insights gives me a better chance to lead in a positive manner.  Reading books is one of the key resources that I utilize in trying to sharpen my leadership skills.  Every once in awhile, I'll even read a book again because it was so good.  Below are some of the books that I'd recommend highly for anyone seeking to be a better leader. These are not necessarily coaching books, but a variety of books that hit upon a number of key leadership areas. With summer fast approaching, maybe go to your local library or go online and get a copy of any of these books that you haven't read.  You won't be disappointed with the valuable insights in these books.

1. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" (Dale Carnegie) 
2. "Good to Great"  (Jim Collins) 
3. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"  (Stephen Covey)    

4. "Leadership Is An Art"  (Max De Pree)

5. "Leadership"   (Rudolph Giuliani)

6. "The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell"  (Oren Harari) 
7. "War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick & the Art of Building the Perfect Team" (Michael Holley)
8.  "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln"   (Doris Kearns Goodwin)
9.  "Leading with the Heart"   (Mike Krzyzewski) 
10. "Reach for the Summit"   (Sally Jenkins)
11. "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty"   (Harvey Mackay) 

12. "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership"  (John Maxwell)
13. "Joe Torre's Ground Rules for Winners"  (Joe Torre)
14. "The Paradox of Power"  (Pat Williams)

15. "It's Called WORK For A Reason"   (Larry Winget)

Championship Lessons Learned at NAIA National Tournament

From March 10-20, I spent time serving on the NAIA National Tournament Committee.  It was a bittersweet experience.  Meeting all the coaches, watching all the games, observing many practices and helping the tournament run smoothly was great.  However, it was difficult watching the teams play knowing that we had been fairly close to qualifying ourselves.  If only we'd won 1-2 more games, we might have been one of the 32-teams that earned a bid.  I must say that Rob Edmission's Oklahoma City University team was extremely impressive throughout the entire tournament.  They beat Union University in the championship game, which is no small feat.  As I watched the games and thought about how to get my team to the tournament, I came up with some observations. In no particular order, I have listed them below.  

DON'T BE A TWIT ... twitter rules to live by

I am fairly new to the world of social media, especially twitter.  I have an account and have composed some tweets.  However, don't expect me to twit anyone back.  I also just learned in the last week that "dm" isn't short for "you da man".  "Direct Message" makes more sense. I kind of thought that it was strange when people would keep asking me to "dm" them.  Okay, whatever dawg...u da man!  Anyway, I believe the twitter universe is here for the long haul and I must get used to it.  More importantly, my players have embraced it so I guess I need to learn a little something about it.  I came across two great articles about tweeting.  The first is "100 Twitter Rules To Live By", which was written by Darren Rovell (a sports business expert for CNBC).   The second "50 Twitter Tips for Division I Student Athletes" was written by Tom Satkowiak, who works in the athletic media relations off at the University of Tennessee, is a good read for anyone but especially college athletes.  Some of my favorites are:

March Madness Brackets

Let the Madness begin!  The brackets were revealed yesterday, which means today was not a good day for "going green".  How many trees we are responsible for killing is probably a number that will never be known.  However, if you are like me, you'll be printing out a bunch of different brackets.  You'll have your 'upset' bracket, your 'favorites' bracket, your 'pick with the head' bracket, your 'pick with your heart' bracket, your 'mascot' bracket, your 'school colors' bracket, and finally your 'bracket of integrity', which is never the one that wins the office pool.  Keith Lipscomb, a college buddy of mine, is an editor for ESPN Fantasy Games.  He just released an article on ESPN.com that is the ultimate in getting information for filling out your bracket and giving you the best chance to beat out your wife and her crazy picks! Click on the link below for all the information you need.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/page/tcmen12trends/2012-men-ncaa-tournament-bracket-trends-consider-making-picks-field-68

The "I GOT FIRED" Club

Springtime.  March Madness.  What a great time of the year.  The flowers are blooming, the weather is nicer, yard sale signs are going up and basketball tournaments are providing us with great excitement.  However, it is also a difficult time of the year for some folks in the coaching profession.  The internet is beginning to be littered with stories and rumors of coaches being fired or getting "resigned".  As fans of basketball, this is natural and expected.  Our team isn't performing like we want them to be and so we want change.  For coaches everywhere, this is also a normal occurrence, though not one that we want our friends and acquaintances to go through.  And by all means, we don't want to go through it ourselves.  It is said that coaches are hired to be fired.  If you are a coach and haven't been fired (or had your contract renewed, or asked to resign, or been re-assigned, etc...) then you are either a relatively young coach or one of the very few fortunate ones.  Notice, I didn't say that you are one of the good coaches.  Bad coaches get fired.  Average coaches get fired.  Good coaches get fired.  Men get fired.  Women get fired.  Alums get fired.  Coach of the Year winners get fired.  No one is immune to this phenomenon.  Sometimes we see it coming; other times it blindsides us.  As a member of one of the biggest clubs around, I wanted to make mention of a couple of things you should keep in mind if you should find yourself joining (or getting your membership renewed in) The "I was fired" Club.  

Best Basketball Coaches Not on TV

Union's Mark Campbell, winner of 4 NAIA National Championships and 89% of his games in 13 years as coach

A recent blog posting by Helen Wheelock got me thinking about coaching job searches and who administrators hire.  Seems like most of the talk always centers around the DI coaches, especially the “up-and-comers”.  I do not profess to know exactly what makes a good coach in all situations.  Good coaches in a bad situation can lead to struggles and failures, whereas unproven coaches (i.e. assistants) in good situations can lead to success and excitement.  I decided to put together a list of some of the best coaches I know.  These coaches are not necessarily up-and-comers.  They are just individuals that know what they are doing and have proven they can get the job done.  Isn’t that what is important for an A.D. anyway?  Coaching X’s and O’s are pretty much a common language across the divisions. 

Fight for Justice

Men's Basketball - Fri, Feb 24, 2012

CHICAGO, Ill. - Martin Methodist's senior guard James Justice has moved on to the final four round for the "Dark Horse Dunker" competition, and Martin Methodist College needs your votes. "Dark Horse Dunker" nominees are under-the-radar players who have what it takes to compete against the D-I field in New Orleans. The winner is decided through a bracket-style voting contest on Facebook, and will compete at the NCAA Division I Final Four dunk contest held in New Orleans, Lousiana airing March 29 on ESPN at 9 pm ET.