Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership From the Twentieth Century's Greatest Winner (Paperback)

~ (Author), David Falkner (Author) "AS A LIFETIME OBSERVER OF SOCIAL TRENDS, I WAS FASCINATED during the nineties to see how commitment, or the struggle with making and keeping commitments,..." (more)
Key Phrases: team ego, Rule One, Rule Two, Rule Three (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There are those who would argue that Bill Russell was the greatest basketball player ever, not because of his physical talents so much as his ability to lead and work within a team. Recently, Russell has been a regular on the lecture circuit, helping businesses understand how to take the principles of "Celtic Pride" and apply it to their corporate cultures and customer relations. In Russell Rules, he breaks downs the qualities that helped to earn him 11 NBA championships into 11 leadership lessons that should enlighten just about anyone, including managers, entrepreneurs, and educators. --Harry C. Edwards --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

In this invaluable book, Bill Russell shares the insights, the memories, and most important, the essential "rules of success" that influenced him in every aspect of his life, from raising a daughter as a single father to becoming a successful coach and mentor to others. Filled with personal and professional stories of his days playing with Celtic greats Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Sam Jones, and coach Red Auerbach, Russell Rules offers inspiring lessons on commitment, personal integrity, teamwork, and success.

"A true champion and a genuine hero." (Bryant Gumbel)

"A person of great character, great integrity." (Jim Brown)

"That rare public figure who is even larger in life, close up, than he is from a distance. [Russell] has that rare quality of authenticity." (Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; 1st edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451203887
• ISBN-13: 978-0451203885
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #469,042 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Have the Brilliant Eye and Mind of a Great Innovator, May 9, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the Twentieth Century's Greatest Winner (Hardcover)

Mr. Russell and Mr. Falkner have combined to create a fascinating series of insights into the elements that turned Mr. Russell's competitive intelligence and zeal into a winning approach to basketball wherever Mr. Russell played or coached. Basically, the idea is to play your own role in such a way that the performance of the team versus its competition will be elevated. The book contains many riveting basketball and personal examples from Mr. Russell's life. There are also a number of business examples to help you apply these lessons to your own situation. Although the book advertises 11 rules, these are supplemented by three subrules for each rule. So, in total, you get 44 rules. Although it's more than you will easily be able to remember, it will certainly round out your understanding of the mental, emotional, and physical processes involved in building the successful habit of winning. I thought that the book was the best example of sports thinking applied to business that I have seen.

I was a Lakers fan when I first moved to Boston in 1964. Naturally, I went to the Boston Garden to see the Celtics play. That was a transformational experience, because television and radio did not really capture what the team did. Never before or since have I seen basketball like I saw in those glory days. My admiration for the Celtics and Mr. Russell knew no bounds. Anyone who has been a fan or an admirer of the Celtics will find this book to be essential reading. You will get many new perspectives on what you saw during those 11 world championshps in 13 years.

Mr. Russell deserves respect for an unequaled sports record. He was named the 20th century's greatest team player by Sports Illustrated. HBO called him the greatest winner in the 20th century.

What many will forget is that he also had a very successful coaching career. He led the Celtics to two world championships as a player-coach (with no assistants!). He also built up the Seattle franchise into a world champion as general manager and coach.

What many never knew about are all of the individual examples of his integrity. For example, after divorcing he raised his daughter by himself.

Let me rephrase Mr. Russell's 11 rules to make them clearer to a business person:

(1) Commitment is essential to success, and commitment has to be based on insatiable curiosity that emotionally rewards the person. In other words, pursue an area of business that endlessly fascinates you.

(2) Apply your ego to the success of your team and your business, rather than to your individual success.

(3) Become the best and most active listener you can be. Act on what you learn.

(4) Be tough about demanding what needs to be done, but be considerate of people as you do this.

(5) Cast a long shadow with your ideas and standards, so that you influence the right result even when you cannot be present.

(6) Seek perfection and encourage it in others, bolstered by joy in what you are doing.

(7) Encourage trust, truthfulness, and mutual reliance.

(8) Immediately take control of the action to move forward constructively, regardless of what happens to your organization.

(9) Use your imagination to design new and better ways to enhance performance.

(10) Lead by establishing and reinforcing discipline, as much delegation as possible, and cooperative participation in decision-making. But don't forget to lead when it counts.

(11) Always be looking for the win, even when it seems impossible.

The book's final section emphasizes how to apply these principles of Celtics' Pride to your own organization.

I found the examples employed for rules 1, 2, 5-9, and 11 to be extremely helpful in understanding how to make a business better, even though they were usually basketball examples.

I recommend the chapter on Everyone Can Win as the best articulation I have ever seen of why focus on winning can make the difference.

Even if you are not a basketball fan, you should read this book. If you do not know the professional game, some of the examples won't work for you, but most of the message will.

After you finish this book, I suggest that you give it to those you work with, and follow up with a discussion of what the lessons are for your work.

Be a winner . . . always!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, Insightful, Inspirational, May 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the Twentieth Century's Greatest Winner (Hardcover)

Bill Russell has never been called conventional. With the myriad of self-help, leadership and personal improvement books in the marketplace, it's hard to break through the clutter...RUSSELL RULES clearly does. This book, like the author, is a WINNER.

As a woman, I was a little skeptical of the usefullness of the book, quite expecting a macho look at winning. A lot of kick butt talk and posturing.

I read this book and found the lessons applicable within minutes with my family and other situations we all experience on a daily basis.

The chapters on listening vs. hearing was particularly meaningful and are worth reading and rereading. He also introduces a very unique concept that is simple in meaning but powerful in reality; the concept of outside-in thinking.

This book is for everyone and we are going to introduce it as the first book of its kind to our book club.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little pretentious, but entertaining reading, May 22, 2001

By	"pspa" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the Twentieth Century's Greatest Winner (Hardcover)

I always find it a bit pretentious when a sports book is written or marketed to have general application to life (Rick Pitino's obnoxious Success is a Choice comes to Mind), but with that caveat almost anything Bill Russell has to say is worth listening to if only because of the man's profound intelligence, wit, insight, and unique perspective on sports and the world in general. Will this book change your life? I doubt it. But then again, if we read for entertainment and enrichment, this book well suits the purpose, and if you happen to be a sports fan or better yet a basketball fan, so much the better as Russell provides much material about the golden age of basketball and the wonderful Boston Celtics before too much money spoiled it.