“Sometimes it’s easier to criticize than to praise. We all know that timely, constructive criticism can erase mistakes and reverse organizational decay. But it’s praise that fuels a company’s progress, that bolsters people’s confidence and spurs them on to greater things. Winning managers look for opportunities to praise—for the person who stays late to finish a report, or helps seal a complicated deal, or points out a way to cut costs. The achievement doesn’t have to be large or dramatic. Anything that reflects a commitment to the company is praiseworthy.” –Bill Parcells
“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” -David Brinkley
“Know the difference between coaching and criticism. That is the only way to develop trust with your players.” –Larry Brown
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one." –John Wooden
“You should always want your coach to be critical.It gives you an opportunity to learn and to over-come adversity." –Steve Nash
"You have to face criticism. I was criticized because my teams didn't play fast. The most severe criticism that I received as a coach, ironically, was after the Final Four." –Dick Bennett
"I never berated a player coming off the court or on the bench. I may have raised hell on the practice court, or watching films the next day, and sometimes it was my fault. But I wasn't involved in blaming people. It was why, why, why. Because when you know the 'why' of something, you can do something about it." –Pete Newell
“Criticism is something you can avoid easily—by saying nothing, doing nothing, and begin nothing.” –Aristotle
"You can't coach without criticizing, and it's essential to understand how to criticize each man individually. For instance, some can take constructive criticism in front of a group, and some can't. Some can take it privately, but other can only take it indirectly. Football is a pressure business, and on my teams I put on most of the pressure. The point is that I've got to learn 40 ways to pressure 40 men." -Vince Lombardi
