What I Learned From My Fireside Chat with Coach K

I had the privilege of speaking with Duke University men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K), who was one of our featured guests at Zoomtopia 2021. Anyone that knows me knows I’m a huge basketball fan, and I am constantly inspired by Coach K’s success, commitment to community, and leadership style.

He’s coached some of the game’s greatest players, whether it was leading Duke to five NCAA Division I titles or coaching the U.S. men’s basketball team to three Olympic gold medals and two world championships. Coach K is active with Duke Children’s Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network, and The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. He also leads fundraising efforts for the Emily Krzyzewski Center, a community center honoring his late mother.

So, talking with someone like him was a special opportunity for me. Coach K told me a couple of his best “starting fives” (the 1992 USA Dream Team came up), the difference between rules and standards, and the impact of culture on a team.

Here are some insights from my conversation with Coach K that I wanted to share with you all!

Connecting during the pandemic

“Zoom has helped us tremendously during the pandemic; it was one of our major forms of communications, staff-wise. One of our values and standards in our program is to look each other in the eye, and Zoom helps us do that.”

The long-term value of a great culture?

“It’s not just a commitment to excellence but a continuity of excellence. In order to have continuity of excellence, you have to create a great culture. Our culture is value-based; we have seven values - integrity, respect, courage, selfless service, trust, loyalty, and duty. We try to live [those values] on a year-to-year basis.

The benefit of presence

“I also try to stay in the moment. If I was a car, I wouldn’t have a rearview mirror. You learn from what you accomplished and you stay hungry in that moment. This year is my final year of coaching, and I don’t want my team to win our sixth national championship, I want to win my first national championship with this team. So staying in the moment has helped me immensely.”

Character is core to recruiting?

“We study the character of a player: Is he a part of a family, and how does he interact with his parents, especially his mother? Is he a good teammate? ... “When you have an influx of talent, intelligence, and character, you’re bound to have a pretty high level of success. They understand that even if they are the best player, they are still part of a team.”

How to manage and motivate top players

Coach K has coached numerous NBA Hall of Famers over several Olympic basketball teams, so I was curious about how he manages all the talent:

“We wanted them to bring in their egos, but put them under one ego umbrella and play for the United States. In our very first meeting I told them, ‘You are not playing basketball for the United States; we won’t win the gold medal unless you ARE United States basketball.’ You have to own it.”

Rules vs. standards

“We didn’t have rules, we had standards of how to live. A standard is how you live all the time, and you own it. You never own a rule. So we came up with 15 standards - the first one from Lebron James was ‘No excuses.’ Some others were: have each other’s back, look each other in the eye, tell each other the truth. … very fundamental things that people don’t think about. And we created that as our environment.”

His biggest challenge as a head coach

“Communication, to constantly adapt to the people you have the honor to coach. You have to adapt to the current generation. How do you continue to relate to the current culture? It’s up to the leader to do that. Always adapt to the players you are coaching. I never adapted our values though. It’s how you communicate and teach those values.

How to make everyone better

“[Zoom] is a new star player. A really outstanding player not only plays well, he or she makes the other players play well. And that’s what a star player does. That’s what Zoom has done; it’s given the ability to make the team better.”

No. 8 is just as important as No. 1

Coach K shared an anecdote of a pivotal moment in the 2015 National Championship game vs. Wisconsin.

“We only had eight guys on our team, and were down by 8-9 points, and I inserted our eighth man, Grayson Allen. There was a loose ball and he ran half the court and got fouled. When he got up, he yelled, ‘Let’s go!’ It was like a lightning bolt that hit every one of us. We turned it around and ended up winning the game.

“After the game, I told my wife, ‘Isn’t it amazing that our eighth man had the courage to say that?’ And she said the main thing was that everybody listened. And she was right. It can’t just be the leader who says something.”

A good plan is a flexible one

“For every game, we have a game plan. But we also have the ability to improvise if the game plan isn’t working or if we see an opportunity. It’s called complete flexibility. Don’t be a prisoner to your plan.”

His favorite point guard (Coach K played PG in college)

“Magic Johnson. He created some unbelievable plays. Being a 6’9” point guard, he had vision. His flair, his competitiveness, and the physical skills. ... And he was a great leader.”?

Create ownership within the team

“When you’re coaching that level of talent, you’ve got to listen to your players. It doesn’t have to be the leader’s voice or leader’s choice, it’s got to be what’s best for the team. Create ownership with your players. Make sure they feel comfortable saying what might work now. It’s not a dictatorship.

How to balance home life and coaching

“You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. They should complement each other. I’m proud of the fact I’m a girl dad and that none of my three daughters have ever said ‘you love basketball more than us.’ ”

Thank you to Coach K for joining us at Zoomtopia 2021! Check out on-demand recordings from the event on the Zoomtopia website.