Show notes
Iteration beats deliberation, constraints beat infinite options. Part 2 of the Bring Your Own Pencil mini-series.
Bring Your Own Pencil: Bill Walsh's Playbook for Winning at Anything — Dan Casey & Griffin Brand
CHAPTERS
00:00 — Welcome back: from the Path to the Process00:38 — The pottery class: why the quantity group made the best pots02:09 — Deliberate practice and the truth about 10,000 hours04:06 — You cross the river by stepping on the stones05:05 — Chapter 5: Netflix, a late fee, and questioning the assumption07:02 — Hold strong opinions loosely: the environment Bill Walsh built08:59 — Walsh's first draft: Steve Fuller, Dwight Clark, and Joe Montana12:04 — Idea meritocracy and the believability index14:46 — Shanahan's staff: competing to get your idea in front of the boss15:40 — The tightrope between conviction and humility17:11 — Negotiables, non-negotiables, and mastering the basics18:29 — The 80% rule: why letting go beats holding on21:01 — "That's how we've always done it" is a golden opportunity22:46 — SpaceX parks a 68-foot fake rocket in Washington, D.C.24:07 — Build it yourself: how small wins compound26:08 — Ask the people at the edge (and the man who made one bolt)27:35 — Chapter 6: Todd Graves, four menu items, and the power of constraints29:53 — The essence of art is limitation: bootstrapping and Hurricane Katrina32:44 — Greg Cook's injury and the accidental birth of the West Coast offense35:52 — Boilermaker to Alaskan fisherman: how Raising Cane's got funded36:48 — Bootstrapped vs. venture-backed, and why the NFL salary cap matters39:27 — Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham, and 50 unique words41:22 — Manufacturing constraints: bloated staffs and invented problems43:47 — Zero-based budgeting for your organization45:36 — Dan's mistake: the year he called offense AND defense46:51 — Always be recruiting: Steve Jobs, and Elon's first 3,000 hires49:52 — Chapter 7: Be the expert — or keep becoming one51:31 — Wardak Province, 2019: the Ranger medics under fire53:41 — A blood bank on the battlefield: more Ranger blood than his own57:00 — Rehearsal under pressure and Walsh's 30 offensive line techniques59:37 — Sweating the right small things01:00:33 — Warren Buffett, the salad oil scandal, and margin of safety01:04:44 — Focus on what leads to winning, not what looks good01:06:58 — Optics vs. effectiveness: lessons from two kinds of First Sergeant01:09:19 — Deck chairs on the Titanic and the 80/20 playbook01:10:48 — British Cycling, humility, and moving on from a mistake fast01:13:49 — If you're always learning, there are no wasted attempts01:14:41 — Coming up in Part 3: The People
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
