Author: Don Yaeger

One of the most powerful backstories in sports comes from one of Southern California’s most challenged cities. The ultimate country club sport, tennis, has been dominated for the last decades by two African-American sisters who hail from a troubled town…and they credit that difficult upbringing with their drive, focus and success. How perfect, then, that while Venus and Serena Williams have set the world of tennis...

Tonight, the NBA Finals will begin. As I look forward to watching the thrilling first game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, I think back to some words of wisdom from Jeff Van Gundy—former NBA head coach and current ESPN commentator—on the value of adjusting your game plan. Several weeks back, Van Gundy was commentating during a late night basketball game that had turned into a one-sided...

One of my favorite sports books/movies of all time is Moneyball, the story of the 2002 Oakland Athletics and their revolutionary use of metrics in the scouting and analyzing of players. Today, it is a given that every team in Major League Baseball has adopted that philosophy, looking for ways of evaluating talent that were not previously valued; many great businesses have also adopted this trend in the pursuit of their...

I’m a leadership junkie. I love listening to speakers and other professionals who are constantly producing ideas on teamwork, values and the essence of leadership. I try to collect and implement the best ideas I can find and, while this may be a good habit, it can also be bad…very bad. Regularly I find myself scribbling down the next great idea, rushing it back to my office, and telling my team: “Let’s try this...

Anyone who knows me is aware that I really like Tom Brady, the New England Patriots and everything that they have been able to accomplish together. Their highly effective culture has successfully blended teamwork with camaraderie, and consistently produces Super Bowl championships and Pro Bowl-caliber players. In many ways, they are a model worth studying…and I have. When I last met Brady, it was at an event organized...

I’m a father of a 6-year-old tee-ball and flag football player and, to be honest, he has not been the star of any team he’s been on so far. Regardless, I want him to know he can bring other “talent” to the team. Before we head to the field for his practices, we talk about the importance of being a good teammate…and that being a good teammate is a talent. Whenever we have this father-son discussion I think of David...

Every leader has a platform, and the greatest leaders know how to use it. Greg Kampe, head college basketball coach of Oakland University, is as good an example of this principle as anyone I’ve ever met. Among active coaches in Division I college basketball, Kampe is the third-longest tenured head coach at any university—falling behind only Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke. Whether in sports or...

It’s the NBA playoffs and the best team in the league—reflected by their performance this season—is the Golden State Warriors. Just last night, the Warriors came back from a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-119 in overtime, which further proves their resiliency. While the Warriors had plenty of talent a year ago, it was a leadership change that ultimately took them from good to...

The readers of my weekly blog and I have enjoyed a fruitful relationship over the past few years, but if you’re brand new to my posts because of Forbes.com, then you might be asking yourself: Do we really need more sports analogies in business? Don’t we have enough? But before you close this page down, just hear me out: I agree with you.