Coach Wooden
Coach Wooden, one of the winningest coaches in any sport ever, having won 12 consecutive NCAA basketball championships, died last week at the age of 99. Coach Wooden's record is exemplary, but what really made Coach Wooden stand out in his profession was in his ability to turn out great people, not just athletes.
I saw an interview from a few years ago with Coach Wooden explaining his accomplishments. He started by listing the doctors, lawyers and teachers that went through his program. Not once did he mention the successful athletes that he coached. Coach Wooden didn't see his job as a basketball game strategist or a developer of young athletes. His job was an educator of young adults. He taught integrity, self control, leadership and responsibility first; the game was last.
One of my favorite children's book is an illustrated poetry book by Coach Wooden called, Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success. (Teamwork, patience, hard work, integrity and determination are the central themes in his book (If anyone would like a copy for their children just shoot me an email).
At Signature Community we see our Rising Star program as a similar program that Coach Wooden espoused. We don't just want our people to be good property managers or good at accounting we want good people that understand teamwork, integrity, hard work and a never give up attitude. Winning transcends any endeavor not just property management. We continue to develop the Signature Star Training center to give learning tools to our team and push daily the focus of teamwork and "being nice".
I can't emphasis enough the importance of always growing as a person not just learning technical skills but life skills. Keep growing and making it happen at Signature Community.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success.html
Nick
