What Can Phil Jackson, Knicks President Learn from Phil Jackson, Leadership Guru?

Leadership lessons for the NBA legend straight from his own book, Sacred Hoops

When Phil Jackson's leadership book Sacred Hoops came out in 1995, he had already won three championships as the coach of the Chicago Bulls. The book was, in Jackson's own words, the introduction to an empathy-driven leadership system that could apply equally well to "an NBA champion or a record-setting sales force." The book's advice would seem to have only grown in credibility in the years since its publication, during which Jackson has won a staggering eight more NBA titles as a coach. He's considered a master of motivating players, through kindness rather than through fear. He's helped some of the most talented-but-headstrong basketball figures ever--Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant--break through via mindful attention to feelings and interests, and earn NBA titles through unselfish team play. Jackson believes (not controversially) that only teammates who care about each others' success on the court as much as their own can succeed in basketball--and business.

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