Success Is the Only Option: The Art of Coaching Extreme Talent

by John Calipari, Michael Sokolove

Overview

Kentucky’s charismatic coach shares the secrets of creating one of the premiere programs in college basketball, revealing how he transforms a group of former high school superstars into selfless, cohesive teams—including a remarkable squad last year that fell just one game short of a perfect season.

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari is known for his unparalleled ability to recruit the nation’s best young players, some of whom will spend just one year with him before going to the NBA, and convincing them to commit to the team without sacrificing their personal goals. It is a promise he makes to them: "Fully invest in the present—and each other—and I guarantee it will serve your future."

Here, for the first time, he distills his team-building methods in ways that apply to CEOs, business owners, coaches, teachers and leaders of all kinds—lessons for anyone seeking to inspire talented individuals to reach for their best selves and contribute to a greater good.

A basketball team is an intimate workplace, in which blend is everything and character matters. As such, it is a window into the nature of successful leadership. Calipari views each new team like a startup business—one composed of new players, new relationships, and new challenges. Each season is a series of discoveries as he learns how to unleash the extreme talent in each of his players and mold them into championship material as college basketball comes to a crescendo every spring. While he can’t control everything, he is responsible for everything—just like a CEO.

An enlightening look at leadership, management, and team building, Success Is the Only Option offers the keys to winning, on and off the court.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062857606
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,050,818
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

John Calipari is the head coach of men’s basketball at the University of Kentucky. He led the Kentucky Wildcats to the 2012 national championship and has been to a total of six Final Fours in his career, including four in a five-year period. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Appeal to Their Aspirations, Not Their Egos xiii

1 Assembling the Talent 1

Character Comes First 7

A Lively Mind 12

The Relationship Between Passion and "The Grind" 13

Be Willing to Be Surprised (or, How I Fell in Love with a Tiny Point Guard) 17

Seek Out Risk-Takers 24

Talent Flocks Together 27

2 Know the Red Flags 31

Avoid Blame-Shifters 33

A Profile in Accountability 37

Anthony Davis on Being Recruited by Coach Callpari 38

3 Unpack Your Bags 41

Creating Joy 43

Settled In? Okay, Now It's Time to Get Uncomfortable 45

Turning Setbacks into Growth 52

Karl-Anthony Towns on Staying in the Present 59

The Past Is the Past 59

4 Keeping It Real 67

The Tone Changes, The Message Does Not 70

John Robic on the Early Years 74

You Have to Cure Them of Their Delusions 75

Keep It Real, but Don't Be Intimidating 80

You Must Give Recognition (and Also Be Ready to Take Responsibility) 83

Tailor the Message to the Individual 90

Don't Be Afraid of Pushback 96

5 The Metrics Don't Lie 101

Keep Score Every Day 102

The Best "System" Is the One That Works 107

Use the Numbers to Promote Certain Behaviors 109

Let the Numbers Tell a Story 111

6 You Can't Delegate Love 117

You Are the Caretaker of Their Dreams 122

Leverage Your Own Success as a Tool of Persuasion 126

If You're Given a Competitive Advantage, Milk It 130

Orlando Antigua (Excerpt) 132

Efficiency, Not Volume 133

Finding Different Sources of Inspiration 137

Embracing the Challenge 139

7 Just Do What You Do Best… Play to Your Strengths 145

Demonstrated Performance Builds Confidence 150

They Build Their Own Swagger 155

Ask a Different Question 158

They Are Each on Their Own Path 165

Devin Booker on His Kentucky Experience 171

8 Empowering Your Team 175

Be Random Yet Organized 176

Ignore the Barking Dogs 179

Everybody Has a Different Seat on the Bus 181

The Importance of Nonnegotiables 186

What Were You Doing Before the Camera Focused on You? 189

You Don't Have to Make Them All, but You Can't Miss Them All 191

Good Players Make Hard Plays Look Easy, Bad Ones Make Easy Plays Look Hard 194

Empowered Teams Have Servant Leaders 196

9 Make It About Something Bigger 203

If It's Predictable, It's Preventable 204

Dealing with Social Media 207

Cultivating Curious Minds 210

When it's Time to Let Go 213

Measurable Results in the NBA 218

Being About Other People 220

My Purpose 222

Afterword 225

Acknowledgments 227

Editorial Reviews

Take a look at and derive insight from the modern world of college basketball and the unique and successful formula applied by one of our nation’s most gifted coaches. It’s a rare experience.” — Bill Parcells, Pro Football Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach

“Coach Calipari has taken a generational phenomenon of coaching extreme talent to another level of extreme success. Without his tipping-point thinking and mindfulness of what he has to do to coach his players, it would not work. He makes it work.” — Pat Riley, former Kentucky Wildcat, five-time NBA champion head coach, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, and current team president of the Miami Heat

“Coach Cal provides a unique view behind the curtain into one of the country’s top basketball programs. The lessons of leading, motivating, and molding highly talented young men into an unselfish, high-performance team will benefit anyone in a leadership position.” — Junior Bridgeman, former professional basketball star and successful entrepreneur

From the Publisher

Coach Cal provides a unique view behind the curtain into one of the country’s top basketball programs. The lessons of leading, motivating, and molding highly talented young men into an unselfish, high-performance team will benefit anyone in a leadership position.

Junior Bridgeman

Coach Calipari has taken a generational phenomenon of coaching extreme talent to another level of extreme success. Without his tipping-point thinking and mindfulness of what he has to do to coach his players, it would not work. He makes it work.

Pat Riley

Take a look at and derive insight from the modern world of college basketball and the unique and successful formula applied by one of our nation’s most gifted coaches. It’s a rare experience.

Bill Parcells