Leading with the Heart

Don’t let a single game break your heart.

We’re going to have the best damn team we can possibly have. That’s why all of you are here today . You were recruited specifically for this purpose. Each of you is special. I don’ t want you to ever forget that.

I don’t want to be a manager or a dictator . I want to be a leader— and leadership is ongoing, adjustable, flexible, and dynamic .

For some reason, I’m not afraid to lose. I wasn’t back then, and I’m not now.

That kind of support system— the family kind of support system—is like getting a shot to keep away jealousy.

I want you to be passionate about basketball, but I also want you to obtain a great education.

Mutual commitment helps overcome the fear of failure—especially when people are part of a team sharing and achieving goals.

I think it’s very important for leaders to take time throughout the year to show they care.

I never let a person’s weakness get in the way of his strength.

If our culture is properly developed, if it’s nurtured and cared for and watered every day, then in the heat of competition, in those moments when you need to slam home a message, where you need to 'spike it,' an individual, or the team collectively, will respond well.

If you’re always striving to achieve a success that is defined by someone else, I think you’ll always be frustrated. There will never be enough championships. There will never be enough wins.

Every leader has to look ahead at the entire season. They have to plan and prepare for every phase, and then remain flexible when things don’t go exactly according to plan.

Embrace the hell out of personal responsibility.

Discipline is doing what you are supposed to do in the best possible manner at the time you are supposed to do it.

If every person has a great foundation and the passion and heart to love what they do, they will always love their life.

If five talented individuals don’t perform as a team, they may not be as strong as five less-talented individuals who do. Any one fist can break any one finger.

All of us alone are weaker, by far, than if all of us are together.

Every season is a journey. Live it with exuberance and excitement. Live it right.

If you’re not fully committed to a course of action that allows use of your team’s full commitment, then change your course of action.

Every goal has to be worthy of the team’s commitment.

At every practice, I want our team to play hard, play smart, and play together.

A leader has to work through the process with them so that he knows they will perform their jobs well during a game.

It’s not what I know, it’s what they do on the court that really matters.

When teaching, always remember this simple phrase: “You hear, you forget. You see, you remember. You do, you understand.

Leaders should be reliable without being predictable. They should be consistent without being anticipated.

Sometimes adversity can work in your favor. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and using it as an excuse, accept the situation and try to make the most of it. That’s how a team develops resilience and character.

A leader has to have the courage to make a key decision in a split second. And then he has to have the courage to live with it afterward—whether it succeeds or fails.

Therefore, basketball is a game of adjustments—just like business. Adjustments are not unusual, they are usual.

Game day is not a day for long, drawn-out speeches. It’s a time for interaction. And you have to interact by feel. That’s what I do. I coach by feel. I follow my heart.

Everybody doesn’t just come together right away, meet on a mountaintop, and embrace. That’s not the way it happens." —Coach K

I believe God gave us crises for some reason—and it certainly wasn’t for us to say that everything about them is bad. A crisis can be a momentous time for a team to grow—if a leader handles it properly.

In a crisis, a leader demonstrates that people need one another.

One of the things that helped us was the fact that we were already a close, tight-knit group of people.

A leader has to show that he’s real, that he can make a mistake.

People are not going to follow you as a leader unless you show them that you’re real.

Successful crisis management is best achieved when people are truthful with one another— immediately.

A good leader presents an image that gives confidence to his team.

In a crisis, it appears to most people that there are no opportunities. But a leader’s job is to create opportunities.

My job isn’t just to win basketball games, it is to lead my team , to take care of my men.

In business, it would be like winning the biggest contract the company ever signed—and then having to turn right around and win the biggest contract that was possible to win. No company, no matter how good they are, is going to win that next job on reputation alone. They’re going to have to go out and earn it.

We are not defending a national championship. The word ‘defending’ implies that we will be back on our heels protecting something. No way, guys. We cannot win another national championship on our reputation. We have to go out and earn everything we get. We are not defending anything. We are pursuing a national championship. Pursuing!

Teaching, of course, is the most important part of our camp. Our emphasis is on fundamentals based on the age and skill level of each camper.

While we are teaching our players, we can also learn from them. If you’re a good teacher, you know that the arrow goes both ways. You give to the group. The group gives back to you.

Teaching is the heart of my coaching style. If I teach them well, winning games will be the natural result.

Trying to do your best, learning about your limits, and then trying to extend them—this is the proper perspective for a leader to have.

Working with the pros on the Dream Team, both coaches and players, helped me understand and believe that I could, in fact, be a good coach in the NBA.

There is a perception out there that once people get out of college, they stop learning. Well I’ve learned a heck of a lot in my twenty years at Duke and I know I have more to learn.

The beauty of leadership is that there are no complete or perfect recipes. You cannot say: “Do these ten things and you will be a leader.

In leadership, things change. Events change, circumstances change, people change. As a matter of fact, leadership is all about change.

When you stop growing, you start to decay. And life goes on, win or lose. Either way, you just have to try to figure out what you can do better the next time.

Fellas," he began, "life changes when you least expect it to. Right now, my goal in life is to be able to come back and talk to you guys again next season. "You don’t know. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. I’ve always been a person who’s tried to pack everything into the moment. I want to do it more and more now because the future is uncertain for me.

I didn’t do it right," he said, referring to the fact that he spent too much time trying to achieve and too little time taking care of himself and his family. "I was really wrong. Don’t screw it up, Mike.

Fellas,” he began, “life changes when you least expect it to. Right now, my goal in life is to be able to come back and talk to you guys again next season. “You don’t know . You never know what’ s going to happen tomorrow .

I didn’t do it right,” he said, referring to the fact that he spent too much time trying to achieve and too little time taking care of himself and his family . “I was really wrong. Don’ t screw it up, Mike.

I guess I needed somebody to tell me what to do because I was blinded by my emotions and my commitment not to miss work. I guess it reminded me that even a head coach, like any other leader, has to remember that there are always other people around who can lead—and that we should listen to them.

I believe people look at things closer when they lose than when they win. At least, that’s what I found myself doing. Sometimes when you win, there’s stuff under the couch and rug that you ignore. But when you suffer a real setback, you want to know all the reasons why—so that it will never happen again.

Don’t try to do too much yourself. Remember, it’s “we” not “I.” Stop the “Success Express” every now and then to enjoy the journey.

Don’t try to do too much yourself. Remember, it’s “we” not “I.

Great players lead by example —by their work ethic, their sacrifices, and how they conduct themselves on a daily basis. They inspire greatness in those around them.

Basketball is organized chaos. You can be on offense, then defense— then back on offense, then defense again—all within a ten-second span of time.

The train is the vehicle we are on for the journey. On board the train are all of our players, coaches, managers, staff—and all of the qualities we teach and believe in: the truth, the repetition in practice, the heart, the fist, everything.

A person really doesn’ t become whole until he becomes a part of something that’ s bigger than himself.

Even though I’m not here physically , I’m going to beat this damn thing after I die—so that it will help other people who may find themselves in the same situation.