The best leadership book I have read in years.
All about Bill Campbell, who coached Jobs, Bezos, Zuckerberg and many more.
Yet almost no one has heard of him!!!
Certainly not the traditional text-book management practices that I heard at university and sadly still hear repeated to this day.
It’s something I’ve always believed in – being very close to the team, clients and wider professional contacts.
Even if at times it’s made situations more difficult.
So, it was refreshing and a relief to read this book.
The book, written by Eric Schmidt of Alphabet Inc. et al., is a tribute to Bill Campbell.
An attempt to share his incredible work, because he never shouted about it himself.
Bill was a coach to leading Silicon Valley executives, including Jobs, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Sanberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Schmidt, Sundar Pichai, Jack Dorsey and many more.
He didn't charge. He did it to try and help.
Bill wasn’t just about executives. He cared for and helped those around him, no matter what their job title. Which was reflected in the number of people who went to his funeral and called him a true friend and fed into the book.
And this really sums Bill up. He led with heart and helped all these executives and their teams try to do this better as well.
As a result, they credit him for Trillions of dollars in value that was added to their companies.
To give you a taster, here are the lessons that really stood out for me, broken down by chapters in the book:
Being a leader
- Project humility, care deeply about your company and the people first.
- Be a great coach with the aim of making other people better.
- Make sure 1:1s are effective (the book has Bill’s framework)
- Let people bring their whole selves to work.
Team first
- You need great team players who are fast learners, work hard, have integrity, grit and empathy.
- Focus on the actual problems and the most important problems.
- Your team need to know you have their back, in good and bad.
Love
- Deep genuine care for your people makes all the difference.
- The people in your life with is what matters most.
- Get to really know your team, and their wider context.
- Build communities around you.
The Yardstick
- Always get the elephant in the room, out in the room.
- Fill communication gaps between team members when needed.
I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes from the book:
- The world faces many challenges, and they can only be solved by teams.
- Every team needs a team coach, and that should usually be their manager.
All-in-all, a stunning book about leading with deep and genuine care for those around you.
Well worth buying... or save this post to come back to the lessons above.
Have you read the book, or worked with someone like Bill? Would love to hear.
First published on LinkedIn.
