Reach for the Summit: The Definite Dozen System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do

No one basketball coach in the history of the game -- man or woman -- has won more games or been more successful than Pat Head Summitt. And whether you happen to like her -- or not -- you just have to give this home-grown Tennessee gal her due. Published in 1998 and written in conjunction with renowned sportswriter Sally Jenkins, this book chronicles Summitt's personal recipe for success, as described in the subtitle as "The Definitive Dozen System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do." Today, seven years later, I seriously doubt if Summitt has altered her recipe one bit. The Summitt system applies not only to basketball, or to coaches, but to anyone interested in reaching higher, to succeeding, or just plain winning. I recently took a graduate level project management leadership class, which included Myers-Briggs and Kiersey personality typing. I happened to belong to the ESTJ type, as does Coach Summitt, which made her particularly interesting to me. I am a coach myself, and a basketball fan, though not necessarily of Tennessee, which can best be described as the New York Yankees of women's college basketball. I follow the Stanford Cardinal, who enjoy a particularly healthy rivalry with the Lady Vols, and have watched Coach Summitt pace the sidelines up close and personal. A few years ago I had the pleasure of hearing her speak at a local bookstore here in California, thousands of miles from her home turf, and couldn't help but walk away impressed. And when I'm not cursing Summitt, I'm loving her. Who can't? A master motivator, tactician and self-confessed workaholic, there's not a Fortune 500 CEO alive who couldn't learn a thing or two from her competitive spirit, winning methodology and ethical excellence. She not only talks the talk, she walks the walk, so whatever you do don't get in her way. But if you do, when the final horn sounds, she'll be the first to shake your hand and buy the first round. She honors the game with every breath she takes. You can easily read this book in a day, but its message will last a lifetime. Play hard, have fun.

Of course, I could not just read one of Pat Summitt's books, I had to read all three. Pat has a plain, matter-of-fact and in-your-face style that is refreshing. If you can not find the mountain of success to climb, Pat will bring the mountain to you. She forces you to look at her definite dozen and find the areas where you know you could most likely improve. And without fail, she will lay down the gauntlet challenging you. She makes you believe that success is within everyone's reach, if you would just work at it. I have made some adjustments myself, since I have started a part-time home based business. I have read a number of books on success. "Reach for the Summit" is by far the clearest, simplest and most inspiring that I have read. GREAT WORK PAT!

As I read through her book, I find myself alternately admiring and feeling a bit sorry for Pat Summit. I admire her because there is no "secret" per se to her success. As the reader learns, you acheive success by working harder, preparing better, and wanting it more than anyone else. This book is not for the person who believes in the "get rich quick" idea of success. Although she has adapted her techniques over the years, at her core she is her father's daughter, and that is where my feeling sorry for her comes in. Every one needs encouragement and praise, just as they need a kick in the backside every once in awhile. As we find out in her book, more often than not, Summit is on the receiving end of one of those kicks. That type of childhood, where praise is seldom handed out can do one of two things: it can make you strong,ambitious, and eager to acheive or, it can break your spirit. In the case of Pat Summit, it is the former. She is definitely driven to succeed. One might question at what kind of cost. I read this book right on the heels of reading Phil Jackson's book, Sacred Hoops, and it is very interesting to contrast the two styles. For Phil, it's the journey; for Pat, it's the destination. Be that as it may, I still admire Pat Summit, the woman, the coach, and her book for its "tell it like it is" sytle. She is definitely "old school", and there is a lot to be said for that kind of mentality. A lot has been accomplished in the world because of that type of thinking. You just have to be careful that it is not at too great a cost. In Pat's case, she seems to be able to balance coach, wife, and mother well, partly because she is married to a man who isn't threatened by her success. All in all, the book is an interesting snap shot of the woman and what makes her tick. There aren't any real surprises. With Pat Summit, what you see is what you get.

Having long been a fan of Pat Summitt & the Tennessee Lady Vols, I finally got around to reading this book and I must say it was a real eye-opener. You've seen pictures of Pat on tv & in the newspapers, usually in some player's face during a crucial moment of a game & you might think, "this woman is really tough on her players." Well, guess what? She IS tough, and many of the players that she's been toughest on went on to be championship players in the WNBA after getting their degrees at the University Of Tennessee. Other than building championship teams, Pat's main goal is seeing that her players get their education & graduate. Everyone on the team must sit in the 1st 3 rows in their classes and pay attention. After reading this book, I came away with the realization that she really does care about these young women and always made it a point to assure them of this. At times when she knew she'd really have to lean on a player, Pat would contact their parents to give them a heads up so that there would be no misunderstanding. Pat Summitt grew up tough but fair, not afraid of hard work and expecting alot from others. Her Definite Dozen System is easy to apply in any job, in all walks of life. You just have to be determined to overcome adversity and to face every challenge that comes your way. Highly recommended reading for everyone, not just fans of women's basketball.

"Principles are anchors; without them you will drift." This concept proves to be the underlying theme in Pat Summitt's Reach for the Summit. Summitt, along with Sally Jenkins, describes her numerous experiences as a basketball coach and truly connects both emotionally and mentally with the readers. The various influences Summitt has been affected by, the assorted methods described, and the simple style allows this motivational book to be both effective and inspirational.In Reach for the Summit, Pat Summitt, head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols, draws upon twenty-four years of experience as a triumphant coach to provide motivational advice for those that want to find success in all areas of life. Structured around her "Definite Dozen" system, each of the twelve chapters covers one rule of achievement. Personal anecdotes, basic ethics, and numerous strategies are used throughout the book to provide a solid foundation for her system. One of the most apparent themes that is stressed throughout the book is the fact that very few people know how to achieve success repeatedly. Many people can win once by getting lucky, following their intuition, or practicing a semi-effective short-term formula. Because people have a tendency to lose sight of their priorities, grow content, and abandon their principles, Summitt's book accurately describes how to build a system of effective methods and stick to them. This book will have a lasting value because of its applicability to almost any situation.Through her amusing stories and few painful memories, Summitt reveals her failures and truimphs as an amateur basketball player, as an Olympic athlete, as a Division I coach, and as a mother. She has become one of the most successful and highest-paid coaches in the country, despite her birth into a hard-working farm family fromn the backwoods of Tennessee. Candidly describing how she personally turned defeat into victory, Summitt then shows the reader how to do the same. However, the content of the book is primarily composed of basketball related incidents and may prove to be tiresome to those who do not share her same admiration for the sport. One of the most sufficient methods of motivation Pat Summitt uses in this book seems to be her thought-provoking rhetorical questions. "What will you do today to better yourself?" "How will you become a more successful person?" The questions enable the reader to analyze the numerous aspects of his or her life.The diction of this novel proves to be rather simple and understandable, and this characteristic may further add to the content's effectiveness. Descriptive stories support all of her keys to success, and in addition to being useful illustrative tools, the stories are also entertaining and humorous. For example, Coach Summitt tells the story of a freshman post player's tendency of allowing the ball to get knocked out of her hands. Abby Conklin scores and