The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team

Awesome Book!!!

As soon as I picked this book up I couldn't put it down. The writing is absolutely awesome and the novelty of structuring it by moments makes it an even better read. The job that Coach K did in rebulding US basketball to prominence speaks for itself, but to hear it retold, supported by the behind-the-scenes moments and stories made for an incredible book. This book will leave you more impressed with the job that was done by Coach K and will leave you extremely impressed by the way in which it was re-told in this book. The writing is absolutely fabulous. A must read!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome book gotta get it!!!

Book Review Outline
Book title and author: The Gold Standard-Building a World Class Team by Mike Krzyzewski
Title of review: A Book Review of the Gold-Standard
Number of stars (1 to 5): 4

Introduction
Mike Krzyzwski,"Coach K", was called to coach the USA Olympic basketball team. It is a step higher than his regular coaching job at Duke University. Coach K is one of the greatest college basketball coaches in the history of the NCAA.

Description and summary of main points
Coach Krzyzewski has only dreamed about coaching in the Olympics. Until the day he got a phone call asking him to coach the USA team in the upcoming Olympics. The first day they had practice coach Krzyzewski walked in and saw ten huge, muscular, tall men. He said he felt like a midget compared to the team. Before he knew it he was shaking hands with Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, and some other players. Coach Krzyzewski got right to drills to get the USA team into shape for a tough challenge and task, to win the Olympic gold medal.

Before anyone knew it the team was flying to Beijing. When they arrived everybody was nervous and jittery. They soon were informed that they would play the next day in their first match against Argentina, one of the favorites of the tournament. After the win against Argentina they advanced to the semi finals and soon were in the championship game. There was thirteen seconds left down by one to the China the other favorite in the tournament. Dwayne wade got fouled the clock ran out. He had two free throws one to tie two to win. He made the first. The stadium was loud and roaring with people chanting for their home team China. Dwayne made the second and USA went on to win the gold medal. Coach Krzyzewski couldn't believe what just happened.
Evaluation
I like this book because I love basketball and Coach Krzyzewski is one of the best coaches for Duke University, which is also my favorite basketball team in college basketball.

Conclusion
I believe that the book gives a good lesson about how you can achieve something if you try hard enough and practice every day. The book gives information that is very important to people who love the game of basketball and want to try to be better.

Your final review
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to play the game of basketball and intends to play it for a school team or an AAU team.

Great insight

Great insight into how this team made a journey to the gold metal. While also changing the perception of the world, that the players are selfish self-centered people. \
Great read

A great read!

The story behind the 2008 Gold Medal Winning USA basketball team is intriguing and well-told. Behind the scenes stories and first-person recount really bring the book to life! Additionally, some great team-building and leadership lessons from a master coach and leader.

I Like It and Here's Why..

I like the book. As a corporate director of human resources, I am continually looking at various books for business and leadership advice. More often than not, I find the real gold nuggets embedded not in management books but tomes covering a wide array of genres. For me, this is one of those books. Most management books are simply repackaged repeats of the same drivel so we must look outside of own arena.

Yes it is almost entirely related to basketball and a bit ego-stroking but that is okay. In addition, when Mike Krzyzewski does delve into managerial advice, it is obvious he "knows not of what he speaks". Nevertheless, there are many management lessons that we can take from the book if we will look at the base content. My favorite chapters were:

. Time to understand context
. Time to cultivate leadership
. Time to adapt internally

If a person can forge an entire group of ego-maniacs into a cohesive team, then I am willing to listen and hopefully learn.

For those who like relating sports to business, I would suggest reading Phil Jackson's book, Sacred Hoops. There is a certain Zen flakiness to it but then again we are looking for those nuggets.

I hope you find this review helpful

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR - Author of Wingtips with Spurs

Wonderful Read

What a wonderfully refreshing book. Old fashioned values used in building a team of new fashioned people. Great behind the scenes peeks. I loved learning how this group of superstars came together with one ego to win the Gold and represent our country. Excellent book.

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