Practical Zen

As a Buddhist myself, I think that Phil Jackson's use of spirituality in his coaching is fascinating. My interpretation of Buddhism is more philosophical and psychological than metaphysical: I use lots of Buddhist principles in my executive coaching, but I don't apply Buddhism in a spiritual sense.

In the same way, Phil Jackson clearly embraces basic Buddhist principles in his NBA coaching. Simple, practical ideas like "let go of the past", "make peace with what you cannot change" and "be in the moment" are applicable to everything from athletics to business and life.

Is Phil Jackson the "greatest-ever" NBA or professional sports coach? Who knows. From a Buddhist perspective, who cares?

By Marshall Goldsmith

 |  June 16, 2009; 11:26 AM ET
Category:  Sports Leadership
Share This: Technorati | Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook
Previous: Reaching the Whole Person | Next: Define Great Coaching

The comments to this entry are closed.