The Score Takes Care of Itself - My Philosophy of Leadership

It's a testament to how interesting Bill Walsh is that this book is any good. Because this is a leadership/management book, everything is presented with this tacit assumption that there's a recipe for being like Walsh was. It's preposterous to even float the idea that a cookbook/textbook approach could make you a genius like Walsh was. If football ever had an artist, Walsh was the guy. He was creative, adaptive, independent, and intelligent. He wasn't about following or establishing an orthodoxy. So putting his wisdom in a book like this (and putting his name on a book like this) after he died seems outrageous. But what Walsh has to say is so valuable that you savor it even if you have to put up with the trappings of self-help. This book helped me when I was researching my own book (TOM LANDRY AND BILL WALSH: How two coaching legends took championship football from the Packer Sweep to Brady vs. Manning). There's a lot in this book you won't find anywhere else. If you care about Walsh, you've got to get this.

I have a Masters in School Administration, and I've served 10 years as an Army officer, this book could replace 80% of the leadership theory books I've been asked to read in my career. This book ads a fantastic story and timeline element to leadership theory, as opposed to the twitter like highlights that so many other leadership books use. If you're a football fan, coach, on in a leadership position this is a great read!

What is amazing about this book is not the writing or the insight into leadership (there are some good lessons). But how candid and introspective it is. This is a bit of Bill Walsh bearing his soul. It clearly shows his drive and creativity but it also shows his loneliness and insecurity. Is is also very direct and candid about the people around him. He doesn't hold back his praise or criticism of anybody, including himself. I'm not sure what to make of this book. There are some leadership lessons weaved into lots of personal stories. But that doesn't really seem to be what it is about overall. It is quite a life story. I'm left with a strange feeling. I think I know a lot more about Bill Walsh now but I'm not sure if I feel happy or sorry for him. You decide.

This book was highly rated on the store and seemed interesting. There is a ton of practical advice on being a leader, and the author seems to reveal the highs and lows of being a leader in an intense atmosphere. Here is a great quote. ​"Boxing or business or anything where the stakes are significant and the competition extreme: When knocked down, you must get up; you must stand and fight." One might overlook this idea, but it is powerful. We are all going to suffer setbacks, but how you respond is important. You must keep fighting on and improve. Here is another great insight. "​I sought intelligence in employees, not just for the obvious reason, but also because a dull-witted staff member who’s aggressive creates anarchy; when you have one of those who thinks he’s intelligent in your midst, look out. The bull-headed know-it-all is a destructive force on your team." Loved this one too. "​Be obsessive in looking for the upside in the downside." The book talks a lot about football, and sports fans will enjoy it. It is not a leadership book that will blow your mind but is one in which numerous insights will help you to think better in the future. This is important too. ​"The difference between offering an opinion and making a decision is the difference between working for the leader and being the leader." It is a motivational leadership book. It is an excellent, easy read, with some good stories that you can grow from.

This book was highly rated on the store and seemed interesting. There is a ton of practical advice on being a leader, and the author seems to reveal the highs and lows of being a leader in an intense atmosphere. Here is a great quote. ​"Boxing or business or anything where the stakes are significant and the competition extreme: When knocked down, you must get up; you must stand and fight." One might overlook this idea, but it is powerful. We are all going to suffer setbacks, but how you respond is important. You must keep fighting on and improve. Here is another great insight. "​I sought intelligence in employees, not just for the obvious reason, but also because a dull-witted staff member who’s aggressive creates anarchy; when you have one of those who thinks he’s intelligent in your midst, look out. The bull-headed know-it-all is a destructive force on your team." Loved this one too. "​Be obsessive in looking for the upside in the downside." The book talks a lot about football, and sports fans will enjoy it. It is not a leadership book that will blow your mind but is one in which numerous insights will help you to think better in the future. This is important too. ​"The difference between offering an opinion and making a decision is the difference between working for the leader and being the leader." It is a motivational leadership book. It is an excellent, easy read, with some good stories that you can grow from.

I read this book based on the recommendation of a fellow coach who thought it would help me with my basketball team. I enjoy reading about people who achieve high levels of success like Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, etc. Coach Walsh is cut from the same cloth. A smart, well thought out leader who rose through the ranks of football to become one of the greatest of all time. Like other high achievers, Walsh obsessed over his craft. The book had plenty of tales of him waking up in the middle of the night to draw up a play or worry about some aspect of his organization. A common theme throughout was his Standard of Performance which was the foundation for how the entire organization should be run. It was a great book to learn how much work goes into greatness. It showed me how normal he was in a lot of ways and how incredibly unique he was in other ways. While it was a great book, I only gave 4 stars since it seemed like he repeated a lot of anecdotes and stories. Well worth the read though!

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.

I came across this title as during every single basketball season I always fall in love with bettering myself as both a coach, educator, and person. I live for these books that offer ideas and plans by successful people. This book is a great read that offers some very simple and yet effective ideas to be a better leader.

I coach 8th grade boys basketball and do many other types of coaching like run a Lego Robotics team and other committees. This book helps me to remind myself how to be an effective leader. It provided some detailed lists of strategies on about everything that goes into leading people whether in sports, business, or day to day life.

I took many notes. I found some ideas to be great. The one that stood out most for me was so simple - the four most powerful words are, "I believe in you". This holds so true when working with people.

There were parts that I did skim through as I was not overly concerned with parts of his life as a coach for San Francisco. I did take time to study any lists, suggestions, and/or ideas about being a leader.

This was worth the read. Not one that I will buy to add to my shelf, but my notes will be studied over and over again.

Glad this was suggested to me to read.

Gladly taking other suggestions

Quite possibly the most impressive leadership book I've read in the last 2 years. The takeaways are on-point, efficient -- just like the Genius would have liked it (or as he would have liked to been called The Porfessor)

The book by Bill Walsh and supplemented by accounts of certain people in his life is a very candid narration of his philosophy when it comes to leadership. In a nutshell, his leadership is generally a process-oriented type of leadership, where the result will just come out depending on the effort being done.

Divided in 5 parts, the book is definitely rich in leadership nuggets that can be used by aspiring leaders for their own personal development. Perhaps the only drawback of the book is its football context -- a lot of the anecdotes are from his experience in football (mostly from NFL) so it may take a while for the uninitiated to make the abstractions or generalizations related to concepts in leadership.

Hands down, this is the best leadership book that you can buy. His insight and belief in the standard of performance is something that any leader can use in their daily dealings, in the corporate world or just in everyday life. The continued undertone of the score takes care of itself is pure genius.

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"?

A well-written book. To the point. The title is a very good summary of his philosophy (The Score Takes Care of Itself), in other words, invest in your team, set high expectations for performance & professionalism, and be firm but fair in your decisions. Build your team first, then you'll start winning. Good football stories to go along with the lessons (but not too much football to make it sports-centric). This seems to be a very honest reflection by Bill Walsh, both success & failure (emotional at times). What I like the best is that Bill describes success in a very realistic manner, paraphrasing: "when you're on top, you're everyone else's target", and "when you win big, you set even higher expectations for yourself". That's why I say this is a practical guide to leadership in competitive environments. Thanks Bill (and Steve & Craig) for sharing your lessons.

Walsh was about striving for perfection. An extreme stickler for precision in all phases on every level of not only the team but the organization. The ultimate architect of an organization. Once you begin to read this book you'll find it difficult to put down.

Great story and suitable for any company that wants to have a true team spirit in their office. I would recommend to anyone that needs to understand how to get their people to become productive and still have a decent relaitonship with their staff.

This is a great book about Leadership and putting the correct purpose, structures and systems in place.
It may look like a sports narrative but it should be a must read for all business leaders.
John Culverwell