Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success

Phil Jackson is a fine writer. His latest book "Eleven Ring

Phil Jackson is a fine writer. His latest book "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success" is another great one. The Zen-Master does a fine job recounting his 20 year NBA coaching career. He coached some of the greatest players to play the game: Jordan, Kobe, Pippen, Shaq, and Rodman (among others). The psychology of how he got the best out of his players is amazing to read.

21 out of 21 people found this review helpful.

This isn't a book about sports. It's a book about creating relat

This isn't a book about sports. It's a book about creating relationships and forming a unified tribe mentality. It is such an incredibly well told story. I highly recommend this book.

20 out of 20 people found this review helpful.

Definitely a book worth reading. Phil Jackson is a masterful sto

Definitely a book worth reading. Phil Jackson is a masterful storyteller. His account of his 20 year NBA coaching career is wonderfully entertaining even if he comes across as something of a know-it-all at times.

19 out of 19 people found this review helpful.

One of the most interesting basketball books I've read - not onl

One of the most interesting basketball books I've read - not only basketball, but leadership as well.

9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

I don't even read books but this got me into reading more, Phil

I don't even read books but this got me into reading more, Phil doesn't only talk about basketball in this book, he talks about life.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

his book "Eleven Rings." I won't promise after reading

his book "Eleven Rings." I won't promise after reading this book, that you wont want to watch and catch up on some sports such as basketball after reading this book. The story he tells on the challenges he faced, and events that occured during his coaching career are described and re-lived as if you were with Phil during his whole career. It's a great book and a must read for any reader. You will be definetly be satisfied after reading this book and may find yourself re-living these events in your head as if it was a movie when you read.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

It was fun to relive the 11 championships as Phil recounts his j

It was fun to relive the 11 championships as Phil recounts his journey. It was interesting to hear his perspective as a coach ion players and the game. I hoped he could shed more insight on the strategies of the game, but instead he, more recounts the game as it were. Still a fun read and enjoyable.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

First off let me say "I Loved This Book".Yes i must

First off let me say "I Loved This Book".Yes i must confess I'am a Phil Jackson fan due in part of being a lifetime L.A.Lakers fan,but with even that said just reading this book made me feel like the pages were coming to life very detailed and well written.I loved the stories and especially finally Phil comparing Kobe to Jordan.If you love sports books then this is a must for your library or bookshelf down in your man cave.Phil Jackson is quite possibly the greatest coach to ever coach in the NBA and one of the smartest geniuses of basketball.If you like sport stories and all the spirituality of the zen then buy this book it was such a treat to read this.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A spiritual, chronological, and impactful odyssey

Aside from the NBA stories, Phil takes us on a journey of leadership realization - I mentioned odyssey in my headline because that's really what it is. You will come away thinking, "this book has so much more to offer than what I thought". I seriously thought I was picking up a biographical re-write of another work but I knew after just the first chapter that this was not only a page-turner, but an impactful one; a work that's going to stick, an hold muster.
Leadership really is about not forcing your way on others but rather, knowing when and how to yield.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Review: Phil Jackson has proven with his previous books that he

Review:
Phil Jackson has proven with his previous books that he is as skilled a writer as he is a basketball coach, and he shows it again with “Eleven Rings.” This book is mostly a recap of his coaching stints with both the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. He talks about what he had to do to take these teams that were loaded with talent and make them blend together into a cohesive team in order to win all those championships.

There are some aspects of leadership that books about business leadership use. However, Jackson will put a unique spin on how he might use this model, so that it becomes clear that he is not doing this from a manual, but instead putting his own perspective and methods into the work he does with his teams. One of these is that he often refers to his teams as a “tribe” and each member of the tribe will know what his role is in order for the goals to be achieved.

What I liked best about Jackson’s sharing of his coaching secrets was how he treated different individuals differently. He realized that one method will not work for everyone, and because his teams had so many superstars with egos to match their talent, he worked on each individual in methods to which the certain player would most respond positively.

Jackson described how he did this with his superstar players on each team – Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman on the Bulls, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal on the Lakers. I thought the best example of this was how Jackson handled a situation with Pippen during the 1994 playoffs, when the Bulls were playing without Jordan who had gone into his first retirement.

Pippen was supposed to inbound a pass to Toni Kukoc for a last second shot in a playoff game against the New York Knicks. Pippen was not happy to have this role for the play and refused to leave the bench after a time out. Jackson made a quick substitution for Pippen. Kukoc made the shot, the Bulls won the game, and the coaching staff decided on what to do about Pippen. After one assistant coach told Pippen it was a bad move (in much saltier language), the team said the Lord’s Prayer, Pippen apologized to his teammates with tears in his eyes, and everyone got a turn to state how they felt. That doesn’t sound like much when a team leader says no to the coach in such a crucial time, but because Jackson knew that this type of action would affect Pippen greater than a fine or suspension, that is what Jackson did.

It is stories like this, the manner in which Jackson treats his player and most importantly, how he articulates this in the book is why I believe this is a book that would be enjoyed by readers of all types, whether or not they are sports fans. The personal stories in this book are refreshing, not judgmental, and a source of great information on some of the biggest names in basketball history. Excellent book.


Did I skim?
No

Did I learn something new?
Yes. While I did know of some of the more well-publicized events of Jackson’s teams, such as how he handled Scottie Pippen’s meltdown in the 1994 playoffs or when the Lakers didn’t immediately offer him new contracts, the manner in which Jackson handled these situations was telling. These passages delved much deeper than what was told in the media. The best of these was how he handled Scottie Pippen’s situation, which is detailed in the review.

Pace of the book:
Very good. It moved along nicely and stayed in chronological order, which is something I appreciate.

Positives:
The manner in which Jackson describes how he handled many of his players, especially his best players such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal was the strength of this book. I also liked that it stuck mostly with basketball-related issues. Jackson certainly did talk about literature, spiritual life and other such topics, but instead of full chapters devoted to these topics, he mentioned them as they related to his teams and/or coaching.

Negatives:
At times, I found Jackson to come across as condescending toward other teams, players and coaches that may not have achieved the same level of success as he has achieved. That has been a consistent characteristic mentioned by Jackson’s distracters over the years, and it seems to show in this book. Not enough to be blatant or libelous but it does appear nonetheless. I also found a few typos and spelling errors, especially of some opponents’ names.

Do I recommend?
Yes, especially for basketball fans. However, I think that fans of other sports and even some readers who may not be sports fans, but want to see how successful leaders build teams would like this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recommended

The book was informative,but unless you weren't familiar with Phil Jackson there wasn't a lot of new information. The book could have had more details in breaking down each of title winning teams with more of each teams uniqueness.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great read so far, about a hundred pages left. Phil truly is the

Great read so far, about a hundred pages left. Phil truly is the Zen Master.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Phil Jackson has done an exceptional job with writing this book.

Phil Jackson has done an exceptional job with writing this book.  “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success” is about the journey of Phil Jackson a coach in the NBA, with his two championship teams the Los Anglos Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.  The book goes past the basketball side of the story, and dives into what the players were like.  
Leadership was a common theme throughout the book, and how it affected each team.  Jackson went into depth about how players like Jordan and Kobe were natural born leaders, and would do anything to win.  Oppose to great players like Rodman, who were not as focused, and did not have a drive to win like a leader should have.  Jackson discusses issues that he had with leadership and the team and the relationship he was able to develop with his team.
This book is an inside look at how Phil Jackson coaches, and why he has been deemed the Zen Master.  Jackson reveals how his famous Triangle Offense functions, with all of the problems and adjustments he made to the triangle.  The design of the Triangle is truly interesting, and is worth the read.  The book also goes into depth about his strange methods of coaching, and relaxing his players before and after the games.  One of the many examples would be bringing in private detectives to talk to the team. Jackson truly deserves the nickname The Zen Master.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the game, or about being a better leader and how to think outside of the box.

i am mj

I approve of thugs muessgesfnm.nbn.nbnnnhkmkliiotfccxtmnhy

Was given as a Gift.

Was asked for as a Christmas Gift.
Read dust jacket, before given.
Looks like a good read.
Sure it will be enjoyed.

Good book about leadership

More than just a book about an NBA coach.

Zues

He looks diwn..and gallops after her.

Stella

A pretty painted horse with long gray mane and tail. She is shy but sweet. Once you gain her trust she is very loyal

Rose

Nothing you.....you just broke my heart she runs to next resalt

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.