Bill Walsh was perhaps the most influential and successful coach in NFL history, transforming the San Francisco 49ers from the worst franchise in sports to a dynasty that won five Super Bowls. He is acclaimed not only for his strategic brilliance but also for his advanced approach to leadership. His teams sustained a consistency of excellence rarely seen in sports or anywhere else.
Drawn from a series of deeply revealing conversations with coauthor Steve Jamison, The Score Takes Care of Itself offers Walsh's best leadership principles illustrated by anecdotes from his entire career. Additional insights and perspective are provided by his son Craig Walsh. A sample of Bill's wisdom:
—Believe in people: 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, and no demonstrations to attract attention to oneself.
—Keep a short enemies list: One enemy can do more damage than the good done by a hundred friends.
—Leaders can't escape criticism: Ignore the undeserved. Learn from the deserved. Lick your wounds. Move on. It may hurt, but sometimes you can't have the last word.
The book will delight football fans and guide the vast business audience eager to learn how Bill Walsh motivated individuals and crafted winning teams.
Download and start listening now!
"Great pragmatic book on leadership with a haunting honesty that reveals Coach Walsh's almost Shakespearean faults. Much of what made him great also compromised his life, health and happiness. A cautionary tale and self-study with many leadership "do's" and "don'ts"."
— Noah (5 out of 5 stars)
A fascinating compendium of Walsh's philosophy.... Enlightening, informative and engaging, this powerful book is a must-[listen] for executives and managers at every level.
— Publishers Weekly Starred Review“A fascinating compendium of Walsh’s philosophy…Enlightening, informative, and engaging, this powerful book is a must-[listen] for executives and managers at every level.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)" Please don't read this if there is ever a possibility that you and I will coach against each other. Read a Bobby Knight book instead. "
— Joe, 8/18/2013" If you love football and have an interest in what makes great leaders tick, this is a must read/listen. The audio book version has a good narrator. "
— Eric, 6/23/2013" Very corporate but a great insight into a genius...also showed the negatives which was very important to me. "
— Stewart, 3/21/2012" A lumpy collection of insights and wisdom well worth reading. At times a chore to read, but also enjoyable in its honest unfinished blemishes. "
— William, 4/8/2011" If you love football and have an interest in what makes great leaders tick, this is a must read/listen. The audio book version has a good narrator. "
— Eric, 9/7/2010Bill Walsh (1931–2007) was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 to 1989, with an overall record of 102 wins and 63 losses. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and died of leukemia at age seventy-five on July 30, 2007.
Steve Jamison is a bestselling author and America’s preeminent authority on the leadership philosophy of UCLA’s legendary coach John Wooden, whose basketball dynasty won ten March Madness national championships. He has collaborated with Wooden on five books, and he was executive producer of the award-winning PBS television special Wooden: Values, Victory, and Peace of Mind. A popular guest columnist and lecturer, Jamison is also coauthor of Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis.
Craig Walsh, the only surviving son of former NFL coach Bill Walsh, is a former marketing executive for the San Francisco 49ers and the current executive director of Santa Clara’s Healthy Kids program.
Dick Hill, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, is one of the most awarded narrators in the business, having earned several Audie Awards and thirty-four AudioFile Earphones Awards. In addition to narrating, he has both acted in and written for the theater.