If you’re looking for a leadership playbook that will take your business to the next level, look no further than Trillion Dollar Coach. In this book, authors Alan Eagle, Eric Schmidt, and Jonathan Rosenberg share the lessons they learned from their time working with and being coached by the man who managed to remain a secret yet has an impact on a lot of big companies today; Bill Campbell. From setting goals to making tough decisions, this book is packed with advice that any business leader can put into practice. So if you’re ready to take your business to new heights, be sure to read Trillion Dollar Coach!
Reason to Read
Trillion-Dollar Coach will teach you how to be a better leader at work by sharing the lessons of Bill Campbell, a businessman who helped create multi-billion-dollar companies in Silicon Valley.
You’ll learn:
- How to set goals that will stretch your team and help them grow
- How to make tough decisions without overthinking them
- How to give feedback that will inspire your team members
- Learn from the experiences of Google’s former CEO, Larry Page
- How to build a successful startup business
Who Should Read the Trillion Dollar Coach?
This book is perfect for any business leader who wants to take their company to new heights. Whether you’re a CEO, a manager, or an entrepreneur, you’ll find valuable advice on these pages. So if you’re ready to learn from one of Silicon Valley’s most successful leaders, be sure to pick up a copy of Trillion Dollar Coach today!
What is the Trillion Dollar Coach?
Bill Campbell’s eulogy by some of his students was a fascinating read about a business executive and coach who, along with other tech luminaries like Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt, played an important role in their success. Although Bill was a private man and died in 2016, his life had a lasting impact on many people. Especially on his mentees, Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg, to whom he served as a leader and coach, and helped them become who they are today. They decided to share his valuable teachings in this easy-to-read 191-page book. This is a refreshing respite after having read through several 400-600-page books (like ‘The Four Steps To The Epiphany‘).
Surprisingly, Bill didn’t take any cash, stock, or profit in ways that you would expect from his work. I was unaware that people like Bill existed until I read this book. This book was full of value bombs.
Silicon Valley is often associated with smart, university-dropouts who invented the world from their garages before their mid-twenties. Innovation in the Golden State is not just for young men. Bill Campbell, born in Pennsylvania in 1940, was already well into his 40s before becoming known as one of Silicon Valley’s most important tech pioneers. He was the son of a physical educator who worked at the local steel mill. Bill Campbell was a quick-witted, determined student who set out to make a career out of himself from an early age. He began writing op-eds for his school newspaper in his teens to remind his peers about the importance of good grades, and warn them against “loafing” (= avoiding activity, especially work).
Summary & Key Insights:
Trillion Dollar Coach is a study of the life, mind, principles, values, and stories of Bill Campbell. It was published after Bill’s death in 2016 and focuses on his methods used for building cultures and leaders. Bill was a dynamic, energetic, outgoing, and successful builder of people, companies, and teams.
Managers are Leaders
Good management is essential for authentic leadership. It’s about helping people succeed and bringing them together. Managers don’t have to be dictators. Good managers aren’t going to tell their employees what they should do.
Managers should instead value everyone and make sure that their opinions are heard. Your people will determine whether or not you are a great leader. They will hail you as their leader if they see you as a great manager. If they see you as a great leader, they will admire and praise you.
Managers who are great understand that employees are the backbone of any company’s success. They have the responsibility of helping people develop and grow in their roles. Managers are responsible for finding the right people and igniting their passion. They also need to create an environment that respects, trusts, supports, and encourages them.
A Trillion Dollar Coach Supports People
Support refers to giving people the tools, training, and information they need to succeed. Managers who are great at developing their employees’ skills should continue to do so, in order for them to grow and excel.
Respect is about treating everyone as an individual, understanding their career goals, and being open to their choices. Managers need to find a way for employees to align their career goals with the company’s.
Trust, on the other hand, is about giving people the freedom to do their jobs and make decisions. It is about showing people that you believe in them and that they are capable of great things.
A great manager must be a great coach. He is awake at night thinking of ways to improve each member of his staff. He truly cares about making the environment a place where everyone can grow and become better every day. The success and well-being of the employees are the priority of a great manager.
People Trust Coaches
Trust can mean many things. Trust means being true to your word, and supporting integrity. Trusting is about being honest. However, there are only few ways to gain trust. Managers must be open and honest about their employees’ abilities, diligence, and ability to deliver on what they promised.
Trust can also be defined as discretion and is crucial to successful relationships. Because it fosters psychological safety, trust must be built within the community. Excellent teams need psychological safety.
Google’s best teams are confident in taking risks, knowing that they have their manager’s back. This is what psychological safety looks like. If everyone in the team is clear about their goals and knows what their role means, they will be able to work together towards achieving the company’s mission.
He believes that you must be a master at building safety and clarity. To succeed, organizations must act as communities.
Each member of the team must have their own interests integrated and be open to others. This will allow them to become collectively and individually obsessed with the best interests of their organization.
A great coach is essential to building great teams. The best way to build products and create dominant teams is through coaching. High-performing teams that have the freedom and resources to make a significant impact will be the best. They are the engine that drives highly competitive, fast-moving businesses.
Leadership Based On The First Principles
The immutable truths that form the foundation of a company are the first principles in every situation. This is the foundation of all products and services offered by the company. These principles should guide all decision-making.
Because they are responsible for creating new products and services, the product team is at the core of the company. This is where it pays to trust your people. Your people’s goals will align with your company’s goals if you give them emotional value in addition to generous economic compensation. This is how they create the right product in the right place at the right time.
Every company’s goal is to bring a product vision into reality. All other components serve that product. To be successful, a company must constantly develop new products. They must attract creative and smart people to create an environment that allows them to succeed on a large scale. For success, product excellence is key.
A Trillion Dollar Coach Leaves Feedback As Soon As Possible
Managers should not just tell people what they should do, but also explain why. A manager must know each member of the team well, as their success is paramount. To encourage higher performance, a manager should make the workplace a place where everyone feels comfortable.
These meetings are a place where the whole team can discuss important issues and opportunities. This is a great place for team members to discuss with one another and make critical decisions.
Meetings in teams are a place where everyone can speak, which makes them a great place for engagement. This is where the team meets, brainstorms, directions are given, and feedback is received. Feedback from employees must be provided immediately.
Even if the feedback is negative, it should be open and honest. Negative feedback should be given privately by managers with a caring voice. This is the only way to deliver it effectively and have the desired effect. Negative feedback should be handled in one-on-one.
Create Communities Outside the Workplace
It is well-known that teams can perform better when there is a sense of community in the workplace. It doesn’t have to end there, though. Managers should encourage their employees to also create communities outside of work. This way, people are even more connected and make the workplace stronger.
It is important to show genuine compassion and care for each member of your team. Managers should learn about the lives of their employees after work. Learn about their families. You can be one of their cheerleaders.
Studies have also shown that employees who are affectionate and caring towards one another perform better in teamwork and performance, show higher employee satisfaction, and exhibit lower absenteeism.
Each member of your team must be treated as an individual. You can get closer to your team members by breaking down the barriers between their personal and professional lives. This will allow you to accept them as individuals. This is more than just asking their children how they are doing when you pass by them in the hall.
You can go deeper and make the conversation more meaningful by asking them questions about their college plans and offering advice and support where possible. It’s about supporting them when they are most in need, such as when they’re sick, injured, or down. To build a strong community, it is important to treat every employee as if they were a friend.
Here’s my favorite Quote from the Trillion Dollar Coach
Leadership is about recognizing that there’s greatness in everyone, and your job is to create an environment where that greatness can emerge.
Conclusion
This book’s most remarkable aspect is the fact that Bill Campbell, a coach to many top entrepreneurs in the Valley, including Steve Jobs and Google co-founders, proves that successful companies are built on People, Teams, Trust, and Love. The book teaches us that honesty and humility, perseverance, persistence, diligence, and an eagerness to learn are the key traits of coachability.
