I've just finished reading Clive Woodward's Winning! I'm not sure if business books, autobiographies or indeed books on sport come any better than this. It's a great read. It tells the story of how on day one the new England rugby coach turned up at the home of English rugby, Twickenham, to find a sorry looking reception area, a few plants that had seen better days but no-one who was expecting him. He had no office, no secretary and was informed by surprised staff that they thought he would want to work from home.
The book explains how he took the English team and indeed English rugby from this to World Cup glory in just a few yers by building a side focused on nothing but excellence and success. Being a business man he applied many business principles to his team building efforts and these are clearly explained as he goes through the book. This is why every business leader should read it.
His pursuit of excellence left no stone unturned. By the time of the World Cup competition he had a team of 18 experts travelling with him including a QC lawyer to sort out any legal tussels, a chef to show each hotel how to do food for world class athletes and a vision expert who would coach them on how to see space on a field.
Once finished I was going to lend this book to a friend but I guess like a rugby player with the ball going for the line I just want to hold onto it. I'm reading it again -always the sign of a great book.
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