I recently finished “Trillion Dollar Coach” by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle.

It’s been on my radar since it was released a few years ago. But one of my goals for this year is to be more helpful to others outside of my paid client work. So it seemed like good inspiration.

The book focuses on the leadership and coaching techniques of Bill Campbell. He was a business coach to a bunch of people you wouldn’t think would need a business coach. People with names like Jobs, Page, Brin, Bezos, Dorsey, and an impossibly long list of others.

The authors are former Google executives who worked closely with him, including former CEO Schmidt.

Overall, I really liked it. I found Campbell’s approach and dedication to helping others very inspiring. His personal journey from actual coach (of the Columbia University football team) to tech executive to one of the most influential people in Silicon Valley is also quite fascinating.

Even if you don’t coach or manage others, there are some great lessons about being a better colleague and team collaborator. For example, I’m kind of an “all business” person and don’t do a great job of showing the people I work with that I care about them on a personal level (even though I do!). There are some excellent examples in the book of how Campbell did this well in a professional setting, which I will try to borrow from.

In addition to being the right thing to do, showing people you care on a daily basis leads to better outcomes. People will be more likely to take risks and share ambitious ideas when they feel the trust and support of their colleagues. They will also be more open to hearing difficult feedback when it comes from someone who has proven they genuinely care through many small acts over time.

There were some aspects of the book that rubbed me the wrong way. For example, it can sometimes get a little Google / Silicon Valley worshipy. But overall, I give it a 👍.

-Doug

I recently finished “Trillion Dollar Coach” by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle.

It’s been on my radar since it was released a few years ago. But one of my goals for this year is to be more helpful to others outside of my paid client work. So it seemed like good inspiration.

The book focuses on the leadership and coaching techniques of Bill Campbell. He was a business coach to a bunch of people you wouldn’t think would need a business coach. People with names like Jobs, Page, Brin, Bezos, Dorsey, and an impossibly long list of others.

The authors are former Google executives who worked closely with him, including former CEO Schmidt.

Overall, I really liked it. I found Campbell’s approach and dedication to helping others very inspiring. His personal journey from actual coach (of the Columbia University football team) to tech executive to one of the most influential people in Silicon Valley is also quite fascinating.

Even if you don’t coach or manage others, there are some great lessons about being a better colleague and team collaborator. For example, I’m kind of an “all business” person and don’t do a great job of showing the people I work with that I care about them on a personal level (even though I do!). There are some excellent examples in the book of how Campbell did this well in a professional setting, which I will try to borrow from.

In addition to being the right thing to do, showing people you care on a daily basis leads to better outcomes. People will be more likely to take risks and share ambitious ideas when they feel the trust and support of their colleagues. They will also be more open to hearing difficult feedback when it comes from someone who has proven they genuinely care through many small acts over time.

There were some aspects of the book that rubbed me the wrong way. For example, it can sometimes get a little Google / Silicon Valley worshipy. But overall, I give it a 👍.

-Doug