Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better

We live in a competition loving culture. We love the performance, the big win, the ticking seconds of the clock as the game comes down to the wire. We watch games and cheer, sometimes to the point of obsession, but if we really wanted to see greatness—wanted to cheer for it, see it happen, understand what made it happen—we’d spend our time watching, obsessing on, and maybe even cheering the practices instead. This book puts practice on the front burner of all who seek to instill talent and achievement in others as well as in themselves. This is a journey to understand that practice, not games, makes champions.

In this book, the authors engage the dream of better, both in fields and endeavors where participants know they should practice and also in those where many do not yet recognize the transformative power of practice. And it’s not just whether you practice. How you practice may be a true competitive advantage. Deliberately engineered and designed practice can revolutionize our most important endeavors. The clear set of rules presented in Practice Perfect will make us better in virtually every performance of life. The “how-to” rules of practice cover such topics as rethinking practice, modeling excellent practice, using feedback, creating a culture of practice, making new skills stick, and hiring for practice.

• Discover new ways to think about practice. Learn how to design successful practice. Apply practice across a wide range of realms, both personal and professional
• The authors include specific activities to jump-start practice
• Doug Lemov is the best-selling author of Teach Like a Champion

A hands-on resource to practice, the rules within will help to create positive outliers and world-changing reservoirs of talent.

About the Authors

Doug Lemov’s highly influential first book, Teach Like a Champion, was based on his study of top teachers in high-poverty public schools. He uses what he learned watching great teachers work their magic to train educators as part of his work at Uncommon Schools, the nonprofit school management organization he helped found. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College, a Master of Arts from Indiana University, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Visit Doug Lemov at dougle-mov.com and teachlikeachampion.wiley.com.

Erica Woolway is the chief academic officer for the Teach Like a Champion team at Uncommon Schools. In this role, she works with the team to train thousands of high-performing teachers and school leaders across the country each year—reaching over one million students. Prior to becoming CAO, she served as both dean of students and director of staff development at Uncommon Schools and as an adjunct literacy instructor at Relay Graduate School of Education. Erica began her career in education as a kindergarten teacher and then worked as a school counselor. She received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology and Spanish from Duke University, a Master of Arts and Master of Education from Teachers College in school counseling, and her Master of Arts in school leadership from National Lewis University.

Katie Yezzi is the founding principal of True North Troy Preparatory Charter Elementary School, an Uncommon School in upstate New York. She taught for eight years in public middle and high schools in Northern and Southern California. She also served as English department head, school-wide reform coordinator, and subsequently as assistant principal of curriculum and principal in district and charter high schools in San Francisco. She is a graduate of New Leaders, a nationally acclaimed program dedicated to training effective urban school principals. In 2008, she began working with Doug Lemov on teacher and instructional leader development related to Teach Like a Champion. Katie earned her Bachelor of Arts in American civilization and her Master of Arts in teaching English from Brown University.