We’re a bunch of sports fans over at Chet and wanted to share how sports can influence business and leadership. Here are some of our favorite books that we think you can learn a lot from!
- Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization by John Wooden and Steve Jamison
John Wooden is considered one of the greatest coaches of all time, building UCLA into a powerhouse and winning a record 10 college basketball championships. Wooden, however, considered himself as more of a life teacher than coach and he describes simple techniques of continuous learning, improvement, and focusing on what’s right for your organization to maximize the production and performance of a team.
2. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
This book documents Billy Beane, the former general manager of the Oakland Athletics, and his visionary use of data and analytics to build baseball teams to win. While many assume that this book is important for its case study of data and analytics uses in sports, the book also serves as a great guide to management, especially when introducing new, pioneering ideas to an organization.
3. Negotiate Like the Pros by Kenneth Shropshire
Kenneth Shropshire is a Wharton professor who has negotiated some monster sports deals and he details many of them in this book. If you’re looking to get some guidance on negotiations, this book will teach you how to become a better negotiator and using your own strengths to your advantage.
4. Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty
A legendary NBA coach, Phil Jackson has become known as the “Zen Master”. Jackson explains his ideas around using spirituality to get rid of top-down leadership and develop a culture of “we over me” to reach success. For those looking to create and lead cohesive work teams, this is the book for you.
5. Reach for the Summit: The Definite Dozen System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do by Pat Summitt with Sally Jenkins
Pat Summitt is a pioneering coach and is considered one of the greatest basketball coaches in college basketball history. She built the University of Tennessee women’s basketball into a powerhouse and she details her system of management in this book, called the “Definite Dozen System”. Based on 12 simple principles, Summitt details how to utilize each one for any given situation.
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