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Bill Campbell, often referred to as the "Trillion-Dollar Coach," was a behind-the-scenes mentor to some of Silicon Valley's most successful executives. His roster of mentees included:

• Steve Jobs (Apple)
• Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google)
• Jeff Bezos (Amazon)
• Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)

Campbell's influence was so profound that the collective value of the companies he advised exceeded a trillion dollars, hence his nickname.

Review of the book

This book is interesting. It's short but dense. On the surface you might read it and dismiss it as it's hard to convey the weight of someones personality and the impact they had on people in a book.

But then he has been endorsed by 80 executives and so you realise that they are saying this is important for a reason.

It's also not helped by the fact that he was a private person and so this book was written by 3 people who knew him well but it's not the same as if he had written it himself.

Should you buy it?

I think this book is probably good for the CEO and any managers in an organisation. I also think counter intuitively that you could understand this entire book by taping a one page overview of it to your wall and reading it every day.

The lack of depth through the book makes me think that you don't necessarily need to buy this one. I'm a collector personally, so I would buy it, but I don't think it's essential.

Key Concepts

• The concept of a smart creative. Someone who combines technical knowledge with business acumen and creativity.
• People are the foundation of any company. The primary job of a manager is to help be more effective in their job and to grow.
• Aim to start as many meetings as possible with personal information rather than task information.
• He believes in striving for the best idea and not consensus.
• When discussing a decision with a team, the leader should be the last to speak.
• Often when people are asking for advice, they are asking for approval. So when they ask for advice, it's more like a prepared question.
• A 2003 study from Lund University in Sweden found that the 'mundane almost trivial things' like listening and chatting were some of the most important leadership qualities to help people feel included and valued.
• A 2016 study found that when the leader asks open ended questions and listens carefully to the answers, it makes employees feel autonomy, competence and relatedness. This leads to higher motivation and engagement.
• He thought it was the managers job to push people to be courageous and to take risks. Courage is hard, people are naturally afraid of failure.
• The quality of constant encouragement has been shown to be the most important factor of effective coaching.
• Work the team first and not the problem. Observe the team and their dynamics and get them working as a group effectively and then trust them to solve the problem.
• Key things he looked for, was that people were smart, have grit, be coachable and be able to work hard.
• He did not overvalue experience. He looked at traits like mind-set and grit and the ability to learn.
• Identify the biggest problem and then solve that first.
• If you have to have a negative discussion, don't let the bitching sessions last long. Get it out and then move on.
• Leaders lead. When things are going bad, people look even more to the leader. They need to see that the leader is calm and in control.

Fun Exercises to Try

• Go around the room and thank someone from your team for something they did. You can't thank yourself and you can't repeat what someone else has already said.
• 5 words on a Whiteboard. You and the other people in the room write down 5 words that are the most important to you without showing anyone. Then you compare and discuss.
• Pair people up. Look for chances to put pairs of people that have never worked together before. This can lead to new ideas and new ways of thinking and builds safety and trust amongst the group.

Good Quotes

• Your title makes you a manager. Your people make you a leader.
• There is a direct correlation between fun work environments and productivity.
• Said to a product manager: "If you ever tell an engineer what features you want, I'm going to throw you out on the street. You tell them what problem the consumer has and give them context on who the customer is".
• Innovation is where the crazy people have stature.
• The CEO manages the board and board meetings, not the other way around. Board meetings fail when the CEO doesn't own and follow the agenda.
• Board members who don't do their homework or prior reading should be asked to leave the board.
• Only Coach the Coachable. If someone is not coachable, you have to move them out of the organisation.
• The traits of coachability were honesty and humility, the willingness to stick it out and work hard, and a constant openness to learning.
• When I'm really annoyed or frustrated at what someone is doing, I try to remember what their value is.
• He believed that managers should not walk in with an idea and "stick it in someone's ear". Don't tell someone what to do, tell them stories about why they are doing it.
• Believe in people more than they believe in themselves.

5 stars

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