The extreme art of winning

Book review of Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness

Michael Jordan (aka MJ) is considered one of the world’s greatest basketball players, winning six National Basket Association championships for the Chicago Bulls. His drive to succeed is legendary.  In the ESPN and Netflix docuseries The Last Dance, which is about the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-98 season, MJ famously said, “My mentality was to go out and win at any cost.”

This scene finds a mention in the book Winning by Tim Grover, co-written with Shari Lesser Wenk. The book leverages the scene deftly to emphasise points such as “Extreme results (winning) require extreme competition” and “being competitive and being a winner aren’t the same thing”. In Winning, Mr Grover has built on the foundations laid out in his previous bestselling book Relentless.

Born to Indian parents who immigrated to the US when he was four years old, Mr Grover studied kinesiology and exercise science at University of Illinois-Chicago, much to the disappointment of his parents who wanted him to become a doctor.  He then turned into a professional trainer and coach, building up an impressive roster of clients, including superstar athletes such as MJ, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, business CEOs, entrepreneurs and other elite performers.  In Winning, he has distilled his experience of training these greats to reach peak performance into 13 key principles.  There is a chapter devoted to each principle.

Mr Grover is quick to point out that the choice of the number 13 is deliberate as he does not believe in luck. “Winning is selfish” and “Winning is the ultimate gamble on yourself” feature among these 13 principles. He adds that winning is composed of four components: Talent, Intelligence, Competitiveness and Resilience.  While the author admits that it might be possible to register a win with three out of the four components, in some exceptional cases with even one or two, he emphasises that all four are needed for repeated wins.

Mr Grover has presented a bald view of winning. “This book is about grit, not glamour,” he writes. And if the reader believes that winning is all about the glorious, the euphoric and the awesome, he invites her to think again.  He offers other definitions of winning, such as hard, nasty and unforgiving.  He also encourages the reader to focus on delivering results rather than building the brand; “Get the results, and the brand will build itself,” is his dictum.  Coming from someone who worked alongside MJ for 15 years, this is solid advice.

In fact, it was MJ who advised Kobe Bryant to take on Mr Grover as a trainer. “He’s the biggest a*****e you’ll ever meet, but he knows his stuff,” MJ told Kobe of the author, who took it as a compliment.  Throughout the book, Mr Grover provides particularly insightful and revealing stories about MJ and Kobe Bryant’s competitiveness to further his viewpoints.  For instance, the author tells us that Kobe Bryant had specifically cultivated the Mamba Mentality to help him perform at the highest level professionally.  The black mamba is one of the world’s most venomous snakes and whenever Kobe stepped on the court, he transformed himself into the mamba to slay his opponents.   

Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness

Author: Tim S Grover

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster UK

Pages: 240; Price: Rs 499

The book has been written in a clear, lucid style with unfussy sentences.  

Mr Grover comes across as an amiable but strict instructor who at one moment inspires us by saying that the ability to win is in all of us and at another cautions us that not everyone is going to win. He also warns us against addressing him as Timmy; only MJ has the right to do so!

Occasionally, though, the narrative slips into puddles of platitudes and wordiness. For instance, Mr Grover says, “Innovate, don’t imitate.  And above all, stop listening to everyone who tells you what to think.” There are also parts of the book that may not sit comfortably with some readers.  

Mr Grover advises us that winning has no balance and requires all of oneself.  This message is bound to grate on the nerves of those advocating work-life balance as a key to success.  As a retort, Mr Grover argues that winning consistently is not easy.  And MJ reminds us that, “Winning has a price.  Leadership has a price”. 

Overall, this book is an illuminating read with a tough message and is for anyone wanting to surge ahead of the competition and rise above the mediocrity in which they may find themselves mired. It is worth buying for the glimpses of MJ and Kobe Bryant alone. It offers an opportunity to learn about the mindset of these sportsmen who excelled at such a high level that they transcended their fields to become cultural icons.