In a world of scandals, core values still resonate
Inside a Torrance, Calif., collection agency, workers sit at cubicles and call people who are behind on their debts. On the wall is a 10-foot diagram of former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success.
At McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Wash., 25 men and women in uniform spend three days in a seminar called the John R. Wooden Course, discussing how his wisdom could help in their work protecting the air security of the western United States.
And in Irvine, Calif., a ballroom full of businessmen and women pay $225 each to hear Wooden discuss how to manage people and balance family and work in a time-stressed society.
Wooden turned 94 on Oct. 14, and this season will mark 30 years since he retired as UCLA coach with a record 10th NCAA championship. Yet Wooden's adages and his Pyramid of Success -- a diagram of core values that once struck former Bruin player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an all-time NCAA and NBA all-star, as "corny" -- have surfaced in more books, seminars, and workplaces than ever the last few years.
After a period in American business embodied by the Michael Douglas "Greed is good" speech in the 1987 movie "Wall Street," and the Enron bankruptcy and accounting scandals of recent years, Wooden's philosophies are in vogue -- even among some too young to know who he is.
"It's classic wisdom. It's just come into its own," said Stephen R. Covey, the best-selling author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," whose book "The 8th Habit" will be released in November with a blurb from Wooden inside. "All these scandals in business I think have highlighted the need for going back to the fundamentals."
Wooden's pyramid includes 15 blocks arranged in rows, starting with five along the bottom. Each block illustrates the qualities that Wooden believes help people reach their potential -- his definition of success.
With such building blocks as industriousness, team spirit, and self-control, it reflects a values system based on cooperation and personal responsibility, an old-fashioned world view that apparently still resonates in the 21st century.
Since 2002, almost 4,000 workers at such companies as Nissan, Southern California Edison, and Pacific Dental Services have participated in the John R. Wooden Course, a seminar created by Southern California consultant Lynn Guerin, a veteran of the performance-improvement industry, in partnership with Wooden and his family.
John Micklethwait, coauthor of "The Witch Doctors," a 1996 book that takes a skeptical look at management gurus, said there is a "very long tradition" of business advice inspired by two particular types of outsiders: military and sports figures.
Micklethwait, US editor of The Economist, said many successful management theories rely on obvious concepts, "things like, 'great teams make you better,' or 'knowing your customer is good,' or 'make more money by bringing in more than you spend,' " Micklethwait said. "There is an element of good business practice that is quite close to common sense."
Such Woodenisms as "failing to prepare is preparing to fail," "Character is what you really are; reputation is merely what you are perceived to be," and "The man who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success," might easily be found in best-selling business books.
Wooden, somewhat frail but still sharp-witted, makes frequent speaking appearances, occasionally for little or no fee depending on the cause.
Many of Wooden's lessons go back to his father, born in 1882. Joshua "Hugh" Wooden had two sets of three rules.
Some in corporate America could learn from the first set: "Never lie, never cheat, never steal."
The second set has the power to transform almost every workplace in the country, not to mention every living room: "Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses."
Perhaps in 50 years, someone will still take those to heart. "If it helps somebody, I hope I'll be looking down and thinking it's good," Wooden said.
