"GREAT LEADERS ASK GREAT QUESTIONS" (DANIEL COYLE AND JOHN WOODEN)

1. In his book, "The Culture Code," Daniel Coyle gave an example of great questions to ask when assuming leadership of a new team: "Michael Abrashoff, a navy captain, took command of the destroyer USS Benfold in 1997. At the time, the Benfold ranked at the bottom of the navy’s performance scores. One of his first acts was to hold one-on-ones with each of the ship’s 310 sailors for thirty minutes. Abrashoff asked each sailor three questions:
   1. What do you like most about the Benfold?
   2. What do you like least?
   3. What would you change if you were captain?
   Whenever Abrashoff received a suggestion, he felt was immediately implementable, he announced the change over the ship’s intercom, giving credit to the idea’s originator. Over the next three years the Benfold rose to become one of the navy’s highest-ranked ships.
2. The highly successful business entrepreneur, Bernie Moreno, provided an example of a question leaders can use every day. His advice was: "When team members come to you seeking an answer on how to manage a demanding situation, ask them: "What do you think?"
3. At a timeout with the game on the line, legendary coaches, John Wooden, Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach asked their players the same question: "What play do you want to run?"

COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE

The Cure For Weariness

Seemed like I couldn't stand it any more,
The factory whistles blowin' day by day,
An' men an' children hurryin' by the door,
An' street cars clangin' on their busy way.
The faces of the people seemed to be
Washed pale by tears o' grief an' strife an' care,
Till everywhere I turned to I could see
The same old gloomy pictures of despair.

The windows of the shops all looked the same,
Decked out with stuff their owners wished to sell;
When visitors across our doorway came
I could recite the tales they'd have to tell.
All things had lost their old-time power to please;
Dog-tired I was an' irritable, too,
An' so I traded chimney tops for trees,
An' shingled roof for open skies of blue.

I dropped my tools an' took my rod an' line
An' tackle box an' left the busy town;
I found a favorite restin' spot of mine
Where no one seeks for fortune or renown.
I whistled to the birds that flew about,
An' built a lot of castles in my dreams;
I washed away the stains of care an' doubt
An' thanked the Lord for woods an' running streams.

I've cooked my meals before an open fire,
I've had the joy of green smoke in my face,
I've followed for a time my heart's desire
An' now the path of duty I retrace.
I've had my little fishin' trip, an' go
Once more contented to the haunts of men;
I'm ready now to hear the whistles blow
An' see the roofs an' chimney tops again.

Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)

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