Penguin Books

Product Description

The inside story of one of basketball's most legendary and game-changing figures

A New York Times bestseller

During his storied career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson won more championships than any coach in the history of professional sports. Even more important he succeeded in never wavering from coaching his way from a place of deep values. Jackson was tagged as the Zen master half in jest by sportswriters but the nickname speaks to an important truth: this is a coach who inspired not goaded; who led by awakening and challenging the better angels of his players nature not their egos fear or greed.

This is the story of a preachers kid from North Dakota who grew up to be one of the most innovative leaders of our time. In his quest to reinvent himself Jackson explored everything from humanistic psychology and Native American philosophy to Zen meditation. In the process he developed a new approach to leadership based on freedom authenticity and selfless teamwork that turned the hypercompetitive world of professional sports on its head.

In Eleven Rings Jackson candidly describes how he:

???"? Learned the secrets of mindfulness and team chemistry while playing for the champion New York Knicks in the 1970s
????? Managed Michael Jordan?? the greatest player in the world?? and got him to embrace selflessness?? even if it meant losing a scoring title
????? Forged successful teams out of players of varying abilities by getting them to trust one another and perform in sync
????? Inspired Dennis Rodman and other ??uncoachable?? personalities to devote themselves to something larger than themselves
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