As I have mentioned before, I am a New England Patriots fan. So it goes as no surprise that I would have received the biography on current Patriots coach Bill Belichick for Christmas from my wife, and this was my read for February.

For a book on football, The Education of a Coach had many takeaways for business. The biggest one that permeated the entire story was networking. Even though Belichick’s father was a well-known and respected Naval Academy football scout, on his own he continually sought out connections with coaches, general managers and owners. This is due to the lack of job security in athletic coaching, which in some regards is no different than contracting in the business world. The second, yet of equal importance, was mentorship. Though Belichick was skilled at reviewing football film to analyze past games, he sought out positions that would allow him to continually grow and be overseen by coaches that were willing to take him under his wing. He then paid it forward as he did the same for young and up-and-coming coaches. Where mentorship may not be as much in vogue today as it was years ago in business, I believe it should be.

If you are a football or sports fan, I highly recommend this book. But if you are not a sports fan, you may lose interest in the detailed descriptions of coaches, teams and games. For the fan, the book reads like you are hearing stories of people and games as being told by an old uncle who may have been at the game themself. And if you are a Patriots fan, it fills in many details of the career of coach that has made you proud of your team again!

Note that the title of this book is The Education of a Coach and not The Education of a Man. People who are familiar with Bill Belichick know all too well that he is an extremely private and publicly shy person and abhors the limelight. Where you get great insight into his maturity as a coach, you learn very little to nothing about him personally. There are barely 4 sentences about his family – only mentioning he got married, had to have his family protected when he was the coach of the Cleveland Browns, got divorced and likes to spend time with his kids. In an age where you know far too much about celebrities, as much as this is different it is also refreshing.

Shortly after I finished reading this book, its author, David Halberstam, was tragically killed in a car crash. The Education of a Coach would be his last book, though others were in process or completed but not published. After reading Halberstam’s style of storytelling, I am eager to explore his other works.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (3) Comments • Permalink

Back in January I pledged to read one book a month, and write not a review but take-aways I got from the book. If you read regularly, you will only see that I have posted one take-away so far. Well, I am catching up, both on my reading and writing. I am one book behind on my reading and have several take-away posts swirling in my head - watch for more!

Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (0) Comments • Permalink

This year I have a goal to read one book a month. Where for some this may not seem like much, it is a big deal for me. I have not been much of a reader in the past, with the exception of trade magazines and technical manuals. As I finish each book, I will write not a review but my "take-away" or the things that made me go “hmmm” after I put the book down for a final time.

My book for January was Small Giants by Bo Burlingham, editor-at-large at Inc. magazine. It highlights several companies that are "giants" in their respective industries, but chose to remain at a certain, smaller size, and details their path to this decision. Some of the companies featured include Anchor Brewing, CLIF Bar and Chicago's Artists' Frame Service.

When people talk about growing their business, the discussion starts at getting larger, but it does not tend to stop anyplace. The companies in this book made a decision to get to a certain size – by the number of staff or services they offer – and are content there. They do not see themselves being limited by this, and the contrary they feel much better about their businesses and its vitality, and in turn themselves. As I plan to grow my own business, this book has given me a different perspective on what growth is, and insight into some choices I may have to make in the future. I recommend fellow small business folks to give this book a few hours to read.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (3) Comments • Permalink