Bill Campbell, the consummate salesman, sales leader and CEO coach passed away in 2016. I never had the opportunity to work with Bill and met him only a handful of times. His reputation as a leader, mentor, catalyst and executive coach is legendary. So much so that Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO co-wrote a new book about Bill called Trillion Dollar Coach. Bill coached Eric, Steve Jobs, the two founders of Google, San Francisco 49er great and investor Ronnie Lott plus scores of other high-profile CEOs. Bill had a profound impact on not only some of Silicon Valley’s top CEOs but also on innumerable sales VPs and sales professionals.
To this day, Bill’s passing leaves a void. You see, Silicon Valley is all about the next great app, the disruptive product, the multi-billion dollar valuation. What Silicon Valley isn't so much about is cultivating exceptional leaders. Bill was ALL about developing leaders and this is how he spent the bulk of his time. He didn’t take any compensation for his coaching and famously said,” I don’t take cash. I don’t take stock. And I don’t take shit!” He was the example of someone who followed their passion and was willing to work for nothing because he loved it so much.
Three core points resonated with me from Eric’s book:
Mentor
Bill was a mentor to many people. Some are very high-profile, some you have never heard of. They were high school kids, interns, recent college graduates and executives. He devoted time to enriching people’s lives. He was willing invest in people. If you are a mentor to someone, outstanding! If not, I would encourage you to open up your calendar and heart to someone who would benefit from your wisdom. Sandler Rule # 20 for Sales Managers is “Mentor to a success profile.” You should have a goal or an objective in mind as you work with mentees. You will determine those goals from the questions you ask. This success profile can serve as a desired end result for your mentee.
Give Back
Two of Bill’s passions were to support his home town of Homestead, Pennsylvania and Columbia University where he played football and later became the head football coach. He gave his time and money generously. Bill never forgot his roots and was deeply grateful for the people in his life that gave so much to him. Each of us have had influential people or organizations that helped mold us into who we are today. I encourage you to give back with your time and resources. Your time is a precious commodity and you can use it in service to those who have helped you.
Speak Candidly But Out Of Love
In this age of political correctness, Bill was anything but! Known for his salty language, Bill peppered his one on one discussions at times with feedback that could be tough to take. Those on the receiving end of his input reflected that while his input was tough, they knew that Bill came from a place of love and caring. He wanted his people to succeed and was willing to push their buttons to help them improve. We don’t do a service for ourselves or someone we are mentoring by watering down feedback. Speak directly and be sure that whomever is fortunate enough to spend time with you knows that you care about them first and foremost. Sandler’s CEO Dave Matson wrote an excellent blog on how to give constructive feedback. His key points apply to mentoring as well: How to Give Constructive Feedback to your Sales Team.
I encourage you to read Trillion Dollar Coach and hope you will be inspired to coach others. You will find the experience to be truly enriching. You have much to give and there are people in your life who will benefit greatly.
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