Mike Krzyzewski Quotes

In high school, in sport, I had a coach who told me I was much better than I thought I was, and would make me do more in a positive sense. He was the first person who taught me not to be afraid of failure.

Everybody wants to take responsibility when you win, but when you fail, all these fingers are pointing.

Leadership is simple: Add value to people everyday.

I think leadership is never singular. In a good organization, it's plural.

Actually, the Kentucky moment was better than winning the two National Championships, because it was the epitome of what I try to get from a team in a crisis situation.

You cannot merely expect culture to be a natural occurrence; it has to be taught and made a part of your everyday routine.

People want to be on a team. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be in a situation where they feel that they are doing something for the greater good.

Always get back to your core principles.

Imagination has a great deal to do with winning.

Visualize a wagon wheel as a complete team. A leader might be the hub of the wheel at the center. Now suppose the spokes are the connecting relationships the leader is building with people on the outer rim of the wheel. If the hub is removed, then the entire wheel collapses. In a situation like that, if a team loses the leader, the entire team collapses.

Good sound habits are more important than rules - use concepts.

You should do things because of what your expectations are of yourself.

In developing teams, I don't believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don't promote teamwork, standards do

Communication does not always occur naturally, even among a tight-knit group of individuals. Communication must be taught and practiced in order to bring everyone together as one

Goals should be realistic, attainable, and shared among all members of the team

Throughout the season, I look into my players eyes to gauge feelings, confidence levels, and to establish instant trust.

Leaders have to give time for relationships. But more demands will be placed on their time as they become more successful. So if a person's success is based on developing relationships, then they have to continually find new ways of getting it done

Believe that the loose ball that you are chasing has your name wirtten on it.

I'm looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm and passion.

Never let a person's weakness get in the way of their strength.

The thing I loved the most - and still love the most about teaching - is that you can connect with an individual or a group, and see that individual or group exceed their limits.

I never want to lead a team that is not allowed the freedom to pursue what's in their hearts. If you want your team to be fully committed, then you'd better be fully committed

I believe work is good. There is dignity in work. I also believe that a hard-work ethic forges strong leaders.

Sometimes in a defeat, you can set the stage for future victory. I wanted them to feel good about what they had accomplished. Not to like losing, but to like the success that they had.

Making shots counts, but not as much as the people who make them.

Encourage members of your team to take the initiative and act on their own.

It's not like we have not had close games. We've just been able to win them, and as a result, the reality sometimes doesn't set in that you're weak in certain areas or you're not doing certain things well. ... When you win, sometimes it overshadows a poor performance.

Effective teamwork begins and ends with communication

That's what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that's great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on.

...you can't play any defense if the other team is on the foul line.

When you are passionate, you always have your destination in sight and you are not distracted by obstacles. Because you love what you are pursuing, things like rejection and setbacks will not hinder you in your pursuit. You believe that nothing can stop you!

You don't just be a team. You become a team. Through tough games you find that you need each other

You can see and you can listen, but you have to have moments in which you feel.

I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.

Parents can really help, but they can also really hinder the development of their youngsters.

I believe a big part of leadership is about winning the moment.

To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.

Why do you play a game? I play a game to see how good we can be.

As teachers and coaches, we must remember that when mere winning is our only goal, we are doomed to disappointment and failure. But when our goal is to try to win, when our focus is on preparation and sacrifice and effort instead of on numbers on a scoreboard then we will never lose.

I had a really bad temper, when I was growing up. Sport helped me channel that temper into more positive acts.

Friendships, along with love, make life worth living.

A leader is someone who puts their people in position to be successful all the time

The best teams are team in any sport that lose themselves in the team. The individuals lose their identity. And their identities come about as a result of being in the team first.

Throughout my life, my mom has been the person that I've always looked up to.

Don't do anything as an individual that will make you stand out from your teammates.

Our goal is not to win. It's to play together and play hard. Then, winning takes care of itself.

Sometimes it's not bad to hurt. Sometimes you don't want things until you get hurt. We got hurt today, let's see what we do.

We lost, and that's the main thing that went wrong.