| The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership |  | Authors: Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison, Craig Walsh
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Category: Book
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Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 325,405
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
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Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 1591842662
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.4092092
EAN: 9781591842668
ASIN: 1591842662
Publication Date: August 20, 2009
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Product Description
"Even when you have an organization brimming with talent, victory is not always under your control. There is no guarantee, no ultimate formula for success. It all comes down to intelligently and relentlessly seeking solutions that will increase your chance of prevailing. When you do that, the score will take care of itself." (Bill Walsh)
Bill Walsh is a towering figure in the history of the NFL. His advanced leadership transformed the San Francisco 49ers from the worst franchise in sports to a legendary dynasty that won three Super Bowls. In the process, he changed the way football is played-pushing it into the twenty-first century.
Walsh is famous for his strategic brilliance and innovations, such as the West Coast Offense, but his enlightened philosophy of leadership was just as crucial, if not more so, to the unprecedented success of his teams. And that philosophy of leadership is just as powerful and productive in business or any other endeavor as it was for him on the football field.
Prior to his death, Walsh granted exclusive interviews to bestselling author Steve Jamison. They became his ultimate lecture on leadership-illustrated by dramatic and apt anecdotes from throughout Walsh's career. A small sample of what you'll learn from one of America's greatest coaches:
* Believe in People: Push them hard to be their very best. No one will ever come back later and thank you for expecting too little of them.
* Professionalism Matters: There was no showboating allowed after touchdowns, no taunting of opponents, no demonstration to attract attention to oneself: "Champions act like champions before they're champions."
* Keep a Short Enemies List: One enemy can do more damage than the good done by a hundred friends.
* Protect Your Blind Side: Prompt yourself to aggressively analyze not only your organization's strengths, but also its unseen vulnerabilities.
* Sometimes You Can't Have he Last Word. A leader cannot escape harsh criticism. Ignore the undeserving; learn from the deserving. Lick your wounds and move on. Your bruised ego will get over it.
Additional insights and perspective are provided by his son Craig Walsh, by legendary quarterback Joe Montana, and by other important figures who knew Bill well.
Bill Walsh taught that the requirements of successful leadership are the same whether you run an NFL franchise, a Fortune 500 company, or a hardware store with twelve employees. His final words of wisdom will inspire and enlighten readers in all walks of life.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 "But here's the lesson I learned...." August 20, 2009
Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Whenever a list of the NFL's greatest coaches is formulated, Bill Walsh's name is usually included with those of other Hall of Famers such as Paul Brown, George Hallas, Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll, and Don Shula. I was especially eager to read this book, written with Steve Jamison and his only surviving son, Craig, because I wanted to gain a much better understanding of Bill Walsh's leadership style and management preferences during an illustrious career as a head coach in the NFL: a record of 102-63-1 with the San Francisco 49ers, winning ten of his fourteen postseason games along with six division titles, three NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowls. He was named the NFL's Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1984.
Especially in recent years, there have been many articles and books written about how to develop peak performers. (Some of the best observations and insights are provided by Erika Andersen in her book, Growing Great Employees.) The most highly-admired CEOs tend be those who were especially effective developing high-impact leaders among those in middle management. At GE, Jack Welch devoted at least 20% of his time to mentoring high-potential middle managers and his successor, Jeff Immelt, continues to do so. Given that, now consider the fact that a total of 24 head coaches in the NFL were once an assistant coach on his staff at one time, and many of them led teams to victory in the Super Bowl (e.g. Brian Billick, Jon Gruden, Mike Holmgren, George Seifert, Mike Shanahan). Some of Walsh's greatest skills were those of a teacher. Many who recalled their association with him after his death (from leukemia in 2007) made it a point to praise his intellect, energy, scope and depth of knowledge, enthusiasm, insatiable curiosity, and especially his passion to help others to understand what great success required and how to achieve it.
In the introductory essay, "A Leader's Book for Leaders," Craig Walsh identifies five "key" players in his father's life: Joe Montana (the first quarterback he drafted who led the 49ers to all of their Super Bowl victories), John McVay (vice president and director of the 49ers' operations while Walsh was head coach), Mike White (a long-time personal friend and a fellow assistant coach at U. Cal Berkeley), Bill McPherson (a defensive assistant coach while Walsh coached the 49ers), and Randy Cross ("a great offensive lineman [and a] member of the San Francisco 49ers for thirteen years including his first three, which were pre--Bill Walsh seasons"). All of them accepted an invitation to "contribute their analyses of the leadership philosophy of Bill Walsh and expand on the comprehensive lessons my father offers [in this book]...these five were asked and kindly accepted the invitation to more fully explain the `genius' of Bill Walsh." Their contributions are substantial. Nonetheless, this is still Bill Walsh's book.
In the Foreword, "His Standard of Performance," Montana praises Walsh's ability "to teach people how to think and play at a different and much higher, and, at times, perfect level." How? Three ways: sharing a tremendous knowledge of all aspects of the game, assembling a highly competent staff as well as coaches "who knew how to coach" and who complemented the intensive instruction that Walsh provided on and off the field, and finally, developing a hatred of mistakes. "He was extremely demanding without a lot of noise...great at making people great students" and "ran a pretty tight ship, but he knew when to let us. He didn't beat up players mentally of physically." On the contrary, he assembled teams whose players who had to be highly intelligent to understand the immensely complicated strategies and game plans for which Walsh was noted throughout his career. He may have been the most cerebral head coach in the league's history. That said, Craig Walsh also reveals that his father "was an outsider; he wanted to be an insider. What he found along the way professionally, starting in his days as an assistant coach, was an unwillingness by others to `let him in.' He didn't have the pedigree -and athletic résumé from a big-name school or assistant coaching credentials from a big college program." Nonetheless, what he accomplished as a coach was eventually considered sufficient for election to the NFL Hall of Fame.
I was fascinated to learn that Twelve O'clock High was one of Walsh's favorite films and that he identified with the lead character, General Frank Savage (portrayed brilliantly by Gregory Peck) who commanded the 918th Bomber group during World War II. "My father loved that movie because it told the story of what he did in football, and what happened to him as a result, in the context of something he loved - the military."
The account of Walsh's career is enlightening. There are important business lessons to be learned from his leadership and management, especially during periods of failure as well as of success. This is what his son means when referring to "his ferocious competitive instinct, and his singular brilliance as a strategist, organizer, and team builder," who "produced historic results." However, what I found riveting is the multi-dimensional portrait of a profoundly human Bill Walsh that emerges gradually as the narrative proceeds, an "outsider" obsessed with "proving them all wrong." He did that and, with what he so generously shares in this book, can continue to help others learn "how to be as great as they can be."
Thoroughly Enjoyable and Instructive September 30, 2009
R. Bailin
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've just completed reading the subject book and came away thoroughly impressed with the late coach's philosophies. One doesn't associate his level of intellect with the NFL and in retrospect, his success seems almost inevitable. His attention to detail was absolute and he was a true visionary, changing the game forever w/ the fabled west coast offense. I found myself wondering at times if he ever questioned the career path that he'd chosen. With his intellect, he probably could've succeeded in many other disciplines and at the end of his life, was he truly satisfied with his legacy as a "football coach"?
Coach Walsh's "Last Lecture" October 1, 2009
David Boisselle (Williamsburg, VA USA)
Are you ready for some football? The late Bill Walsh, who led the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships in ten years, has written what is more of a leadership book than a football memoir. Written in part with the help his son Craig, The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership is Walsh's coda - a "last lecture," if you will - to a groundbreaking career in leading not only his players, but the men and women of the franchise in his added role as general manager. One does not need to know or appreciate professional football to understand, learn, and benefit from Walsh's best practices.
Walsh divides the book in five parts consisting of his bedrock Standard of Performance; innovation, planning and common sense; fundamentals of leadership; essentials of a winning team, and his sometimes painful lessons learned.
Climbing the ladder of football success from high school coach to college and finally apprenticing under the legendary Paul Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals, Walsh was named coach and general manager of the lowly San Francisco 49ers in 1979. Implementing his Standard of Performance throughout the franchise was his first order of business, "teaching each person in the organization what to do and how to think." The Standard ("some picky, some profound") included core values, work ethic, commitment to learning and teaching, the direct connection between details and improvement, self-control, loyalty and team welfare over self, among many others. All 49er employees possessed figurative ownership in the organization. They became, by every measurement, the team of the 1980s. Walsh, the student of great teachers like Brown, himself begat five assistant coaches who would later become head coaches in the National Football League.
Walsh was not presumptuous enough to write a book that would guarantee good leadership; rather, he sought to help us understand the ways we can increase the probability of success: "That's what it all comes down to, namely, intelligently and relentlessly seeking solutions that will increase your chance of prevailing in a competitive environment. When you do that, the score will take care of itself."
I found The Score Takes Care of Itself to be one of the best books on leadership and organizational behavior that I have ever read. Coach Walsh has left us the playbook to his Pro Football Hall of Fame success that we can easily translate and apply to our roles as business leaders.
Great Christmas present January 15, 2010
Sheryl B.
I was asked by my son to get this for him for Christmas. The order was placed right before Christmas, but got it on wednesday before Christmas. He was very pleased with the book and has already read it and told me it was exactly what he was looking for. The book was used, but was in fantastic condition.
Last words from a genius...and others April 5, 2010
Coach D (Illinois)
Being a football coach, I am always trying to learn more about strategy as well as ways to motivate young men. I have always been intrigued by Bill Walsh. After all, the man did reinvent the game of football, and made it into what we know it as today. I am a fan of his previous books, and when I saw that this book was being released, I knew that I had to get my hands on it.
The book is a little unconventional, in that it is published posthumously. You can tell that the work was not quite finished, and Steve Jamison does not shy away from this fact. What you have is the words of Bill Walsh, supplemented with those that knew him best. Bill's son Craig, Joe Montana, John McVay, and Mike White, all give their insight into what made Bill Walsh such a spectacular person.
The beginning of the book is a little dry, as it is mostly Steve Jamison explaining how the book came to be. However, once you get to Part I, you find out quickly what this book is about...Leadership. The examples that this book gives comes from the football world, but can be applied to life in general. This book has given me a better understanding about the ways in which Bill Walsh was able to be a successful leader, but more importantly it has made me think about ways that I can become a better leader. As I was reading this book, I also began taking notes on how to create my own "Standard of Performance."
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
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