***The Captain Class: A New Theory of Leadership***by Sam Walker
This book is on my 🏷️#reading-list as a result of 📝Ryan Holiday's recommendation:
This was definitely the best business/leadership book I read this year. It was recommended to me by the lacrosse player Paul Rabil when I did his podcast. What a book! It proves that we have really missed what makes great teams and organizations work. It's not star players, it's not even how much they can spend--it's whether they have great *captains.* Athletes like Bill Cartwright on the Chicago Bulls, Carla Overbeck on the US Women's Soccer team, Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees and Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers were not by any means the most famous or the most talented players, but they were the glue that held the team together. Walker's chapter on "carrying the water" had some great insights re: Ego is the Enemy and I think this incredibly well-written book should be studied by anyone trying to build a great organization (or trying to find a role for themselves inside one). Related, and lesser known recommendation: Everyone should read Sadaharu Oh's autobiography, A Zen Way of Baseball**. He's the greatest home run hitter of all time, a Zen master, and basically nobody outside of Japan knows who he is. Brilliant and beautiful book.