The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team

The legendary Coach K reveals the unique leadership skills that he used to unify a bunch of highly-egocentric NBA superstars to work together in order to win the Gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympic games. In his previous bestselling books, Coach K has guided readers to success the way he has guided his teams at Duke University with the power of his inspirational words and phenomenal leadership skills. But that was with college kids. Now, Coach K has stepped up to take on an entirely new challenge—by volunteering to coach the US Olympic Basketball team. Comprised of some of the biggest NBA stars, Coach K had to work with huge egos and personal rivalries in order to create an American team that could win against the best competition in the world and restore Team USA to the gold standard of basketball. This is more than a celebratory book—it's Coach K's first-hand account of how he dealt with such stars as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and all the rest to buy into his "total team" play. Half a book on basketball, half a book on management techniques, The Gold Standard captures Coach K's personal style and approach to getting different (and sometimes difficult) people to work hard and succeed in reaching a common goal. Says Coach K: "In all forms of leadership, whether you are a coach, a CEO, or a parent, there are four words that, when said, can bring out the best in your team, your employees, and your family ... I BELIEVE IN YOU. These four words can mean the difference between a fear of failure and the courage to try." Read more