Trillion Dollar Coach - Book Summary
Corporations of all sizes are layered with pretense. Over time, we've erected so many barriers to authentic human behavior that it's become nearly impossible to be genuinely ourselves at work. We pretend basic human functions don't exist. "Oh, what's that?" the collective mindset asks, superficially feigning confusion, while everyone knows exactly what they're avoiding.
Once you reach a leadership position in a team or organization, you might find yourself hiring an executive coach—having forgotten how to genuinely connect with other humans.
Bill Campbell was a renowned coach in Silicon Valley. He worked with the world's largest software companies—including Google, Apple, and Intuit—becoming one of the industry's most respected advisors. Beyond coaching, he practiced leadership firsthand as a CEO and board member. Before starting his business career later than most, Campbell had worked as a football coach.
This book is a tribute to Bill, who passed away several years ago. Written by his former coachees with input from many others, it shares leadership and coaching principles through real stories from Bill Campbell's practice. The book covers both practical theories of business management and deeper philosophical models of leadership. Many of these principles are common in leadership literature today, but when Bill first implemented them, they were groundbreaking or barely known.
“Failure to make a decision can be as damaging as a wrong decision. There’s indecision in business all the time, because there’s no perfect answer. Do something, even if it’s wrong, Bill counseled.”
Here are some principles and practices in the book:
Lead based on first principles. These are the immutable truths of the situation. Guide decisions from first principles.
Make decisions. The manager’s job is to run an open and attentive decision-making process; to listen to everyone’s input. And eventually break ties and make a decision.
The CEO manages board meetings, not the other way around. It is important to prepare and share board meeting materials in advance. Do not include the highlights and lowlights in the preparation material, otherwise board members might get stuck on the lowlights and will want to only talk about that.
Only coach the coachable. You can only be coached if you are coachable, and you can only coach others who are coachable. Being coachable means honest, humble, open to learning, willing to persevere and work hard.
Listen fully and tell the truth. Listen with the whole body, and don’t let any gaps exist between statements and facts. If you let yourself be natural, these qualities will inevitably be there. Teach through stories instead of hard facts.
Teams are the most important unit in a business. When there is a problem, resolve conflicts and any situation within the team first, then go to the problem. Often the problem will resolve itself through the team.
Build communities in and outside of work. People and places are stronger when there is a sense of belonging and genuine relationships. This doesn’t happen naturally in business, so it’s the coach’s role to make it happen.
