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Non-Football Books to Read Before the Season

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As a head football coach, I felt is was important to read some non-football books to get different perspectives on winning, success & leadership principles. I tried to read about anything that could help our coaching staff be better prepared to maximize the potential of our players. The books I listed here, I found very helpful. I included a link to a book review on each one.

Good to Great by Jim Collins

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

Execution by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan

Lead for God’s Sake by Todd Gongwer

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson

The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden

The Genius of Robert E. Lee by Al Kaltman

Commonsense Rules for Everyday Leaders by Tony DeMeo

These are ten books that will touch on a variety aspects of being head of an organization.

  1. Good to Great – is a blueprint of getting your team to the next level.
  2. David and Goliath – is how the upstart can compete and defeat the big guy on the block
  3. Execution is about developing and executing a strategy
  4. Lead for God’s Sake is a parable about a struggling coach who discovers priorities and perspective.
  5. Mindset by Carol Dweck is not very well known but is about getting into a growth mindset and the effect it has on performance.
  6. Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson is a great book about building a cohesive team using Zen, Sioux Wisdom & Common sense.
  7. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle is the single best book I know for improving your approach to practice.
  8. Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden is one of the great Leadership books by a great leader.
  9. The Genius of Robert E. Lee by Al Kaltman explains how General Lee, whose Army was outmanned and overmatched consistently defeated the superior Union Army.

And then there is my book Commonsense Rules for Everyday Leaders which uses a little humor to give some advice on handling situations that arise to Everyday Leaders. I sincerely recommend it.

I would also recommend my newest CoachTube Course on The Four Aces. The Four ACES is a system of evaluating & improving performance guaranteed to boost the level your team plays at. Take a look.