Mike Krzyzewski Quotes

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

I love practice. It is when a coach exercises the most control over the improvement of his or her team.

I think you're not a human being unless you have doubts and fears.

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

When I went to high school, an all-boys' school, a Catholic school, I tried out for football, and I didn't make it. It was the first time, athletically, that I was knocked down.

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.

Even though we want huge individual egos, our collective ego is unbelievable.

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

Never delegate. Always empower.

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

I have a plan of action, but the game is a game of adjustments.

Leaders show respect for people by giving them time.

Growth creates complexity, which requires simplicity.

Are you going to show integrity only when someone is watching you - or are you going to show it all the time?

The person who has inspired me my whole life is my Mom, because she taught me commitment. She sacrificed.

I've been so fortunate in my life that my family has never been jealous of my success. They have shown true love and commitment to me by being supportive. They shared in it.

When a leader takes responsibility for his own actions and mistakes, he not only sets a good example, he shows a healthy respect for people on his team

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

Whatever a leader does now sets up what he does later. And there's always a later.

Each group and each youngster is different. As a leader or coach, you get to know what they need.

A leader may be the most knowledgeable person in the world, but if the players on his team cannot translate that knowledge into action, it means nothing.

A leader's responsibility to his team is paramount. It overshadows even his own personal feelings at any given time.

With me and basketball, it became part of me.

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

When I was in sixth grade, I wanted to become a priest.

When I was growing up, there weren't any Little Leagues in the city. Parents worked all the time. They didn't have time to take their kids out to play baseball and football.

Basketball was not my main sport in grade school, or even the first year of high school.

Confidence shared is better than confidence only in yourself.

If a team cannot perform with excellence at a moment's notice, they probably will fail in the long run.

When you cleanse yourself of a big victory, you may open yourself up to the opportunity for an even bigger victory

First of all, what happens is, when you're good at something, you spend a lot of time with it. People identify you with that sport, so it becomes part of your identity.

Every leader needs to remember that a healthy respect for authority takes time to develop. It’s like building trust. You don’t instantly have trust, it has to be earned.

A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on "x's and o's" as compared to time spent learning about people.

Leadership is an ever-evolving position.

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

Defense is one man guarding the ball and four others helping him

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

A leader has to show the face his team needs to see.

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

Fun is to experience things you would not have been able to experience in any other setting.

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

Embrace the hell out of personal responsibility.

I don't think we surprise people. We try to out-execute them.

When you first assemble a group, it's not a team right off the bat. It's only a collection of individuals

Great rivalries don't have to be built on hatred. They're built on respect, on a respect for excellence.

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

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

When I had troubles, I'd go out - with basketball, you can do it by yourself, too. So you'd go out and shoot, and you'd fantasize.

Leaders have to search for the heart on a team, because the person who has it can bring out the best in everybody else.

Leadership is simple: Add value to people everyday.