Mike Krzyzewski Quotes

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. Those four words can mean the difference between a fear of failure and the courage to try.

There are five fundamental qualities that make every team great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride. I like to think of each as a separate finger on the fist. Any one individually is important. But all of them together are unbeatable

In order to be a winner, you have to look for ways of getting things done and not for reasons why things can’t be done. People who live with excuses have things that can’t be done hovering around them all the time.

My hunger is not for success, it is for excellence. Because when you attain excellence, success just naturally follows.

Champions play as they practice. Create a consistency of excellence in all your habits.

Only the mediocre are always at their best. If your standards are low, it is easy to meet those standards every single day, every single year. But if your standard is to be the best, there will be days when you fall short of that goal. It is okay to not win every game. The only problem would be if you allow a loss or a failure to change your standards. Keep your standards intact, keep the bar set high, and continue to try your very best every day to meet those standards. If you do that, you can always be proud of the work that you do.

You develop a team to achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. All of us alone are weaker, by far, than if all of us are together.

Effective teamwork begins and ends with communication

A leader is someone who puts their people in position to be successful all the time

The only way you're going to grow is to be in difficult situations.

When you are passionate, you always have your destination in sight and you are not distracted by obstacles. Because you love what you are pursuing, things like rejection and setbacks will not hinder you in your pursuit. You believe that nothing can stop you!

You don't just be a team. You become a team. Through tough games you find that you need each other

Leadership is simple: Add value to people everyday.

Never delegate. Always empower.

Never let a person's weakness get in the way of their strength.

In developing teams, I don't believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don't promote teamwork, standards do

Effort is fully replenishable. There is no need to save any of it. Leave every bit you have on the playing field

Our goal is not to win. It's to play together and play hard. Then, winning takes care of itself.

A leader has to be positive about all things that happen to his team. Look at nothing in the past as failure.

You should do things because of what your expectations are of yourself.

Confrontation simply means meeting the truth head-on.

There are always those times when you're going to be down. It's how you step through it that makes you the person you are.

The thing I loved the most - and still love the most about teaching - is that you can connect with an individual or a group, and see that individual or group exceed their limits.

I'm looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm and passion.

With accomplishments comes confidence and with confidence comes belief. It has to be in that order.