The Score Takes Care of Itself (38 page)

He’d go through the roster like that: “Ray [Wersching, 49ers field-goal specialist], how long can we count on you for tomorrow? Can you deliver forty-seven yards at the end of the game if we need it? Don’t say yes unless you’re sure. I need to know absolutely I can count on you, Ray. Can I?” On and on, commitments, publicly to their team, of high performance in the coming battle.

He was also frank about admitting his own mistakes. After a game, at the next meeting, he would review what had gone right and wrong with the whole team. While he didn’t pull any punches when reviewing their individual performances, he was also forthright when it came to his own work. He would tell them where he had made mistakes: “I should have done this instead of what I called,” he’d say. There was no culture of seeking scapegoats, no failure and finger pointing. It was very matter-of-fact: We did this wrong; here’s how we do it right. He would critique himself equally hard in winning and losing, always leaving room for improvement. Improvement was his obsession—always looking for ways to improve his coaching, his team, his organization.

Twelve O’Clock High
, starring Gregory Peck, was one of his favorite movies and inspired him a great deal. Eventually, after his retirement, he described to me the similarity he felt between General Frank Savage (Peck’s character in the movie) and his own situation and trajectory at San Francisco.

The film is about an American bomber group in England during World War II that is suffering extreme problems. Leadership is poor; casualties are high; morale is low; their luck is bad. General Savage comes in and, against long odds, turns the bomber group around, installing discipline, high performance, and good morale while leading raid after successful raid over Germany. But the personal toll is high as he sees friends killed and good men destroyed in various ways in combat.

The raids continue day after day, until one morning, as the crews of the bomber group—the 918th Flying Fortresses—are climbing into their planes for another attack, Savage finds that he is unable to lift himself into his B-17 bomber to lead them into battle. Having led his fliers to victory, he is emotionally gutted—a basket case who is taken to a hospital ward to recover.

Substitute the San Francisco 49ers for the 918th Bomber Group, football players for flight crews, Coach Bill Walsh for General Frank Savage, retirement for the hospital ward, and you get the idea. My father loved that movie because it told the story of what he did in football, and what happened to him as a result, in the context of something he loved—the military.

It is in the framework of this dichotomy, extreme success as a leader in the NFL and extreme distress as a person, that makes Dad’s story so compelling, his lessons in leadership so valuable. His staggering drive to prevail—to “prove them all wrong”—his ferocious competitive instinct, and his singular brilliance as a strategist, organizer, and team builder produced historic results. The blueprint for his kind of leadership is revealed in this book.

The lessons he shares in
The Score Takes Care of Itself
are both a beacon for leadership and a cautionary tale—what to do and what
not
to do. But isn’t that the subject all effective leaders dwell on? Isn’t it the perpetual puzzle of their leadership?

My father was a complex man, but he had a simple goal. Although the price was high, he achieved his goal, and as the years rolled by following his retirement, he gained peace and pride, great satisfaction and contentment, within himself. No longer an outsider in his mind, he saw that his philosophy and methodology were held in the highest esteem; his radical system the norm; his approach to team building commonplace. And that many considered him the greatest football coach of all time. At the end, he was lecturing about his ideas on leadership for graduate students at Stanford University.

I’ve told people that my father didn’t need a traditional family; his real family was football. And it was almost true. His commitment to the team, his organization, and its goals was total. Bill Walsh may not have sold his soul to the company store, but he leased it to the game he loved for many years.

My sister and I were there with my father on his final day. He was so weak, but still so strong in spirit. I whispered in his ear that it was okay to go, that the time had come and we loved him. Dad closed his eyes and was gone. He was brave as hell. I put my arms around him and my sister, Elizabeth, and I wept. His triumphs had been recognized for many years. He knew he was no longer an outsider.

My father is gone, but his hard-earned leadership lessons remain in place, perhaps more relevant now than ever before. I know he would hope that something in his own experience, as shared in this book, is of value in your own challenges as a leader. It would mean that once again he was able to do what he loved doing and did so well: teach others how to be as great as they can be.

accountability

choice of employees

as leadership trait

as Standard of Performance

actions

documentation of

norms and expectations for

adversity, opportunity in

Allen, George

Anderson, Ken

anxiety.
See
stress

Ashe, Arthur

attitudes

commitment to perfection

contagious nature of

dignity in defeat

fear of failure

influence of interior leaders on

mentoring of

norms for

one-point-underdog mentality

overconfidence

positivity

situational

supportiveness

work ethic

See also
egotism; mental state

Audick, Dan

Ayers, John

behavior

effect of success or failure on

expectations for

hard work

leadership by example

mental state and

belief

confidence in employees

organizational self-image

in self

beliefs

leadership philosophy

philosophy of staff members

strength of, in decision making

teaching of

Benjamin, Guy

betrayal

by staff

by superiors

violation of Standard of Performance

See also
loyalty

blind side, protection of

Board, Dwaine

bonding

benefits of

in celebration of success

connection and extension

Bronzan, Bob

Brown, Paul

directness in communication

expertise of

openness to change

organization and management skills

reluctance to share credit

sabotage of Walsh’s career

understanding of organizational accountability

Bryant, Bear

Buffett, Warren

burnout

Carter, Virgil

character

as basis for leadership

of employees

situational

Clark, Dwight

Clark, Monte

Clayton, Mark

Coca-Cola

Cochems, Eddie

collaboration

communication

acceptance of input

after conflict

to avoid isolation

with creative employees

directness and clarity

for effective collaboration

employee’s skill at

of expectations

within organization

practice of

skills for

with superiors

teaching

competitors

demonization of

response to threat from

rumors about

composure

in defeat

as leadership trait

performance under pressure

rituals for

in zone for optimal performance

connection and extension

contingency planning.
See
planning

conventional wisdom

Cook, Greg

Cooper, Earl

Cosell, Howard

Coslet, Bruce

Craig, Roger

credit, sharing of

crisis-management team

criticism, acceptance of

Cross, Randy

culture of organization.
See
organizational culture; Standard of Performance

Curtis, Isaac

Dahlen, Neal

Davis, Al

Days of Grace
(Ashe)

Dean, Fred

DeBartolo, Eddie

concern for others

purchase of 49ers

recognition of Walsh’s potential

DeBartolo, Eddie, Jr.

DeBerg, Steve

decision making

after success

collaboration and interaction for

under pressure

defeat

adherence to failing strategy

attitude toward

with dignity

fear of failure

meaningful facts in

as part of success

recovery from

shared ownership of

transformation of behavior by

delegation of responsibility

demonization of competition

detail

attention to, as leadership trait

as basis for discipline

in clarification of expectations

in communication with superiors

contingency planning

focus on trivial issues

in pursuit of excellence

scripting

in Standard of Performance

Dils, Steve

distractions

in environment

hostile relationships

negativity

overconfidence

rituals to avoid

rumors

trivialities

Ditka, Mike

Drive (offensive series of plays)

Drucker, Peter

Dungy, Tony

Duper, Mark

egotism

in adherence to failing strategy

versus ego

of employee

exploitation of

as impediment to communication

injury to group unity

limitation of collaboration

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

emotional state.
See
mental state

employees

character

delegation of responsibility to

desirable qualities

direct interaction with

firing of, for Standard of Performance violation

firing of underperformers

friendship with

harsh and decisive treatment toward

inner voices

mentoring by

personal goals

philosophy of

positive comments about

respect and concern for

responsibility for selection of

enemies

environment

for bonding

collaborative

communicative

creative

distractions in

positive and supportive

professional

range of moods in

ethics, organizational

example, leadership by

excellence, commitment to

expectations

belief and confidence in people

burnout from, to avoid

communication of

expectations (
cont.
)

escalation of

inflexibility concerning standards

maintenance of, after success

Standard of Performance

expertise

for effective teaching

of employees

mastery as process

of mentors

failure

adherence to failing strategy

attitude toward

defeat with dignity

fear of

meaningful facts in

as part of success

recovery from

shared ownership of

transformation of behavior by

fairness

proper treatment of people

respect

flexibility

adjustment to challenges and needs

innovation

in scripted plan

as state of mind

49ers

professionalism

soft characterization of

at time of Walsh’s arrival

turnaround

See also specific issues
;
specific people

Fouts, Dan

future.
See
planning

gamesmanship

Garrison, Walt

Gillman, Sid

gladiator mentality

goals, organizational.
See
Standard of Performance

goals of individual versus group

Graham, Otto

Grant, Bud

Green, Denny

habits of successful leaders

Hackett, Paul

Hardman, Cedrick

hard work

leader’s demonstration of

pursuit of perfection

Harmon, Derrick

Hayes, Woody

hazing

Hecker, Norb

Henderson, Thomas “Hollywood,”

Hewlett, Bill

Hofer, Paul

Holmgren, Mike

hostile relationships

humor

improvement.
See
perfection

innovation

beyond conventional wisdom

calculated risks

from desperation

recognition and exploitation of potential

West Coast Offensive

interactions.
See
relationships

isolation

burnout and