Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Coach K - business school case study

Coach K really does serve as a walking case study on organization and human performance best practices. I say this, drawing on a few classes now in management and organizations. Today's example can be found here -

Coach K could easily rest on his laurels as one of the most successful coaches in college history. Instead, he used his three years of coaching the Olympic team to gain exposure to a diverse set of coaches on his staff, but more so, exposure to thousands of hours of international competition and what does and does not work around the world. He then brought that back to Duke to change the way he coaches. A lesser coach would simply plod away with what has worked so well in the past, fill his Olympic coaching staff with yes-men who come from the same school of coaching philosophy, or go to international competition more concerned with proving the value of his methods vs. learning from the example of other teams.

Not Coach K. I'd wager (though I'm hardly the first) that his willingness to continually learn and adapt is what has allowed Coach K to sustain Duke's basketball success for so long.

(story found via Duke Basketball Report).


1 comment:

Carey said...

This is what we call creativity. His art does not languish, but continues to develop through his entire life. The K is not a coach; he is a Michelangelo of the art of the hoop & ball.
There are only a few other basketball man whose art comes close to his. They are: MeadowLark Lemon, Pete Maravich, Michael Jordan, John Woodin.
Carey Rowland, author of Glass half-Full