274 Quotes by Mike Krzyzewski

If the only reason I coached was to win basketball games, my life would be pretty shallow.

I never want to lead a team that is not allowed the freedom to pursue what’s in their hearts. If you want your team to be fully committed, then you’d better be fully committed.

That’s another thing, we made up games. We didn’t have equipment. When it snowed, we would play slow motion tackle football. We would play hockey, but we wouldn’t skate. We just made things up. I loved doing that.

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.

During critical periods, a leader is not allowed to feel sorry for himself, to be down, to be angry, or to be weak. Leaders must beat back these emotions.

That’s why basketball was so good, because I didn’t really need you or anyone else to play it. It would be better if we played four-on-four or five-on-five, but I could go out there alone.

If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you. You haven’t done much today.

The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions. Not me. I don’t want to be a manager or a dictator. I want to be a leader-and leadership is ongoing, adjustable, flexible, and dynamic. As such, leaders have to maintain a certain amount of discretion.

That’s what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that’s great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on.