What can we really control, and what can I live with as a leader?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nBrett Gunning, an assistant with Wright during those early years at Hofstra, put it another way: \u201cThat\u2019s the No. 1 challenge for coaches. To say: What is it that I\u2019ll be at peace with, win or lose, when I go home so I can go to sleep at night snoring like a baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
I like that. It\u2019s the Pillow Test. When you lie your head down at night, what core values will allow you to feel content?<\/p>\n
Wright knew his values couldn\u2019t be about wins and losses; that wasn\u2019t realistic or fair, to his players or to himself. His team might play a perfect game and still lose because of talent.<\/p>\n
So he settled on four tenets that were always within his team\u2019s control:<\/p>\n
1. Play hard.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cWe wanted to play hard every time we stepped on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. Play together.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cWe wanted to think of each other and think about how our actions affected each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Play smart.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cWe wanted to learn how to get better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
4. Play with pride.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cWe wanted to have pride in our program and play for the name on the front of our jerseys, not the back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright\u2019s core values aren\u2019t unique on their own. Every coach in the country talks about wanting their team to play hard and smart and together. But that\u2019s only part one of the process.<\/p>\n
The really hard part comes next. Because once you decide on your core values, you actually have to stand for them.<\/p>\n
Wright wanted his core values to show up every day, in everything his team did.\u00a0But first, he had to actually define each of his principles on a granular level.<\/p>\n
So when he talked about playing hard, he meant:<\/p>\n