This past month, the world lost a coaching legend when the great John Wooden passed away just shy of his 100th birthday. According to former players and coaches, when Coach Wooden would get upset he would say, “Goodness gracious sakes alive!” For the record, that would be in the place of using profanity. How times have changed…
Over his coaching career Wooden developed what has become his famous Pyramid of Success. The two corner posts of his pyramid are Industriousness and Enthusiasm. So let’s talk a little about purposeful hard work and having a passion for what we are doing, in tribute to the greatest basketball coach who ever lived.
A lot of Americans are industrious. In fact, the U.S. economy is the largest and arguably the most productive in the world. With less than 5% of the global population we produce nearly 25% of global GDP. And despite the notion that manufacturing is non-existent in the U.S., we still make more goods than any other country including China. Moreover, when it comes to both goods and services, the U.S. remains the world’s leading exporter.
Wooden said that, “to be successful your heart must be in your work.” Personally, I consider myself blessed because I love what I do. A lot of people I know love what they do as well. Yes, I know, many do not. The thing is though, in this country nobody makes you do anything you don’t want to do as long as you aren’t incarcerated. We have freedom of choice. Do the 500 million workers in China have similar freedom of choice? How about the 400 million workers in India? How about most of Eastern Europe, all of the Middle East, and a good bit of South America? For the most part, much of the globe operates with far less freedom than what Americans enjoy.
So, I’m thinking the U.S. has two very solid foundation posts to build its pyramid of success. In a nutshell, we have the opportunity to find something we love doing and have the freedom to work really hard at it. While this may sound overly simplistic, it worked fairly well for Coach Wooden.
According to countless economists, strategists, and pundits, the U.S. pyramid of success is under attack. And they are right. Our future success is under attack from an unshakeable pessimism that has invaded our national psyche. We fear higher taxes, higher inflation, lower economic growth, destructive deflation, and becoming the next Greece, to name a few.
While all these are formidable challenges, history shows that worst case scenarios rarely come to fruition. They don’t because hard working, motivated people adapt and solve problems. A recent case in point is the banking system which has largely recovered from “the brink of financial Armageddon.”
Ronald Reagan once said, “Government isn’t the solution, government is the problem.” Today, the battle cry from the oval office seems to be, “Big business is the problem, and the government is taking over.”
This leaves us with a critical question we are all going to wrestle with for quite some time. In this great battle for our future success, do we have to choose sides? Was Reagan right or can government be effective in some areas? Is Obama right to keep his “boot on the throat” of corporate America or can the free enterprise system regain its economic momentum?
For the screaming heads, it is an all or nothing issue. I don’t think it is. There is a role for government to develop structure and controls to support and encourage private enterprise. Admittedly government can be wasteful and inefficient, but it serves an important function as a regulator and safety net for the global economy.
At the same time, a healthy private sector is vitally important to our economy. A strong corporate environment creates jobs and builds national wealth. On this note, I do not think the scathing rhetoric from the administration, or from Congress, helps our economy continue to make progress in its recovery.
Interestingly, there are three other building blocks at the base of Wooden’s Pyramid of Success in between Industriousness and Enthusiasm. The first is Friendship – “which comes from mutual esteem, respect and devotion. A sincere liking for all. Next comes Loyalty – “To yourself and all those dependent upon you. Keep your self-respect.” And the last building block is Cooperation – “With all levels of your co-workers. Help others and see the other side.”
Perhaps, Congress, President Obama, and the Fortune 500 CEOs should all study Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. And then perhaps they can all demonstrate friendship, loyalty, and cooperation. In the meantime, during our most trying times, let the worst we say about our circumstances or to our rivals be, “Goodness gracious sakes alive!” That would make Coach Wooden smile.
Michael Kayes, CFA
