Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Gold Standard
Building a World-Class Team

by Mike Krzyzewski with Jamie K. Spatola (Krzyzewski’s daughter)
read by Jamie K. Spatola

     

Mike Krzyzewski’s The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team covers two subjects:   the formation and success of the 2008 United States Olympic team and a treatise on building leaders for businesses.  The book meets the first subject very nicely.  It is interesting to see how Krzyzewski handled the NBA superstars and formed a true team, not just a group of all-stars out to build their own image without regard to the team concept. When it comes to the plan to help people build business leaders, the book falls somewhat short.

Sure, the kernel of the lesson is there, but Krzyzewski illustrates each point with examples of how the team learned and applied the lesson.  The lesson is lost and the reader is back to basketball again.  This is not to say that the book is not entertaining and informative.  It certainly is.  The book will sell well because Krzyzewski has a huge following... and why not? He has won three NCAA championships, been coach of the year twelve times and now has a gold medal from the Olympics.

Does his ego come through?  Sure does.  Who among us could resist the urge to be egotistical with a resume like that of Krzyzewski?

The authors do a good job of leading us through all aspects of the Olympic experience and give us insights into people such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James which we would be hard pressed to find anywhere else.  It was an excellent account of the Olympic basketball experience but a mediocre book for team building for business leaders.

The book was read by Krzyzewski’s daughter, and it was a little disconcerting to hear a female reader read male dialogue.  It would have been really impressive if Krzyzewski could have narrated the story.

The Book

Hatchette Audio
April 6, 2009
Unabridged Audiobook  6 CD’s / Approx 7 hours
978-1600246777
Business / Self help
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Willie Elliot
Reviewed 2009
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