Synopses & Reviews
One of the greatest coaches of all time makes the argument for realistic preparation—in sports and in life—as an antidote to thoughtless optimism and wishful thinking. Even before Norman Vincent Peales The Power of Positive Thinking, Americans were famous for their optimism. But there are two sides to any contest—and theres always a loser, no matter how much positive thinking occurs on both sides.
In this pragmatic and inspirational book, legendary firebrand Coach Bob Knight, the second-winningest coach in NCAA history, turns conventional thinking on its head. Famous for turning even the unruliest players into focused, disciplined teammates, Knight argues that the greatest leaders anticipate and prepare for a negative scenario. They succeed by expecting things to go wrong at any moment, and by building a realistic strategy that takes all potential obstacles into account.
Knight uses fascinating behind-the-scenes examples from his long career to convey the power of negative thinking in sports, business, and life. While it might ruffle feathers—and nobody ruffled feathers like Coach Knight—negative thinking achieves positive results.
Synopsis
In this pragmatic and inspirational book, legendary firebrand basketball coach Bob Knight, the second-winningest coach in the history of the NCAA, turns conventional thinking on its head and challenges us to use negative thinking instead.
Synopsis
Norman Vincent Peales The Power of Positive Thinking, a classic bestseller, has inspired an optimistic perspective for millions of Americans. Now, in an inspirational and entertaining rebuttal, the legendary basketball coach Bob Knight explains why "negative thinking" will actually produce more positive results, in sports and in daily life. Coach Knight, the second-winningest coach in NCAA history with 902 victories, explains that victory is often attained by the team that makes the fewest mistakes. His coaching philosophy was to instill discipline by "preparing to win" rather than hoping to win. That meant understanding the downside and drilling his teams to prevent the things that could go wrong. And when his teams did win, he made sure they didnt dwell on their success, but rather looked immediately to the challenges of the next game. He applies this lesson to business strategy as well.
About the Author
Bob Knight compiled one of the greatest records ever in college basketball: 5 National Coach of the Year awards, 3 NCAA championships, 11 Big Ten championships, an Olympics championship, and 902 victories overall, along with achieving a near-perfect graduation rate for his players. Knight is also a featured commentator for ESPNs college basketball coverage, on camera at least once a week. His first book, Knight: My Story, spent five weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Bob Hammel is the coauthor of both books.