- A ring symbolizes love and unending connections - Native Americans considered the ring sacred and built their communities around the shape
- Different tribal stages - life sucks, apathetic people, focused on individual achievement and have to win (lone warriors), main focus is tribal pride and needs a strong adversary, and last stage is that life is great
- 11 "Rings" of Leadership
- Lead from the inside out - be "anti-lemming" and develop your own culture and system. Speak from the heart and be transparent
- Bench the ego. The more power you try to exude and force, the less resort and power you will receive
- Let each player discover their own destiny - don't force your changes on people. Remember players aren't just cogs in a machine, they are people
- Road to freedom is a beautiful system. Create a system where players can decide for themselves
- Turn the mundane into the sacred. Incorporate rituals like meditation into mundane practices and routines
- One breath equals one mind. Mindfulness meditation is very useful to focus ones awareness on the present moment and shut out the noise
- The key to success is compassion. Simplicity, patience and compassion are all vital
- Keep your eye on the spirit and not on the scoreboard. Process over outcome
- Sometimes you have to bring out the big stick
- When in doubt, do nothing. When the mind is allowed to relax, inspiration often follows
- Forget the rings - winning shouldn't be your focus, do your best and then let the outcomes unfold
- Selflessness is the holy grail of basketball
- 3 helpful aspects of Zen Buddhism - give up control, stay in the moment, live with compassion (especially for oneself)
- Aims to give each player enough space to grow and an environment where they can prosper. Transparency is key
- Instead of firing the players up he created rituals to help quiet their minds before games
- Being focused on the present helps you see the unseen and hear the unheard
- One of the best ways to deal with anxiety is to be as prepared as possible
- Important to have a "pecking order" on your team which is well known and accepted
- The sacred is in the ordinary. Your work had to represent your passion
- As a leader you need to meet people where they are and show them where to go
What I got out of it
- Really interesting story and many of the leadership and management principles Jackson outlines can be incorporated into any leadership position. I didn't know that Jackson had such an interest in Buddhism and quieting his player's minds