Sam Walker

Several years ago, Sam Walker set out to answer one of the most hotly debated questions in sport: what are the greatest teams of all time? He devised a formula and applied it to thousands of teams across the world from the English Premier League to the NFL. When he was done, he had a list of the 16 most dominant teams ever. At that point he became obsessed with another, more complex question: what did these freak teams have in common? As Walker dug more deeply, a pattern emerged: The teams were all driven by a singular type of leader, but not one with the characteristics you might expect. They were unorthodox outliers - awkward and disagreeable, marginally skilled, poor verbal communicators, at times aggressive and rule-breaking and, rather than pursue fame, they preferred to hide in the shadows both on and off the field. Captains, in short, who will challenge your assumptions of what inspired leadership looks like. From the captains of world renowned teams like Barcelona, Brazil, the All Blacks and the New York Yankees to lesser known successes of Soviet ice hockey or French handball, The Captain Class unveils the seven key qualities that make these elite leaders exceptional.Drawing on original interviews with athletes from two dozen countries as well as coaches, managers and others skilled at building teams, Walker attempts to answer questions such as: Are great captains made or born? Why do so many teams pick the wrong captain? Why has the value of the captain fallen out of favour and how can it be revived? The culmination of 10-years research and a lifetime of sports watching, The Captain Class is like no other sports book and is guaranteed to spark endless debate and heated argument among fans of every sport

Every spring, millions of Americans prepare to take part in one of the oddest, most obsessive, and most engrossing rituals in the sports pantheon: Rotisserie baseball, a fantasy game where armchair fans match wits by building their own teams. In 2004, Sam Walker, a sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal, decided to explore this phenomenon by talking his way into Tout Wars, a league reserved for the nations top experts. The result is one of the most sheerly entertaining sports books in years and a matchless look into the heart and soul of our national pastime.

The secret to winning is not what you think it is.Its not the coach. Its not the star.Its not money. Its not a strategy.Its something else entirely. The founding editor of The Wall Street Journals sports section profiles the greatest teams in history and identifies the counterintuitive leadership qualities of the unconventional men and women who drove them to succeed. Fuelled by a lifetime of sports spectating, twenty years of reporting, and a decade of painstaking research, The Captain Class is not just a book on sports; it is the key to how successful teams are built and how transformative leadership is born. Several years ago, Sam Walker set out to answer the most hotly debated sports question: what are the greatest teams of all time? He devised a formula, applied it to thousands of teams and listed the 16 most dominant teams ever across all sports, from the English Premiere League to the NFL. But what did these freak teams have in common? As Walker dug deeper, a pattern emerged: all teams were driven by a singular type of leader, a captain, but not one you might expect. They were unorthodox outliers awkward and disagreeable, marginally skilled, poor communicators, rule breaking and rather than pursuing fame, hid in the shadows. Captains, in short, who challenge your assumption of what inspired leadership looks like. Covering world renowned teams like Barcelona, Brazil, the All Blacks and the New York Yankees to lesser known successes of Soviet ice hockey or French handball, The Captain Class unveils the seven key qualities that make an exceptional leader. Drawing on original interviews with athletes, coaches and managers from two dozen countries, Walker questions if great captains are made or born, why teams pick the wrong captain and how the value of the captain can be revived.

Sam Walker examina en este fascinante ensayo la clave del éxito de los mejores equipos deportivos del mundo, y llega a sorprendentes conclusiones: la fuerza oculta detrás de los equipos más legendarios de la historia no es el entrenador, ni la estrella; no es el dinero ni la estrategia; es una cuestion totalmente distinta...Capitanes ha sido incluido en las listas:Top Business and Leadership Book de 2017 de Amazon y13 Best Business Books of 2017 de CNBCHace diez años, Sam Walker decidio contestar la pregunta mas controvertida sobre deporte: ¿cuales son los equipos mas exitosos de todos los tiempos? Mediante la estadistica, identifico los 16 equipos con mayores triunfos a su espalda en todos los deportes, desde el futbol, hasta el baloncesto, pasando por el rugby o el voleibol femenino. El siguiente paso era inevitable: ¿que caracteristicas en comun tenian estos superequipos?Segun avanzaba, Walker encontro un patron: todos ellos tenian detras un tipo muy especial de lider, un capitan, pero no el que uno esperaria. Eran anomalias heterodoxas, raros y poco sociables, no muy talentosos, malos comunicadores, rompian las reglas y, en vez de reclamar atencion, preferian un segundo plano. Unos capitanes muy diferentes de lo que se espera de lideres inspiradores.A partir de equipos tan famosos como el F.C. Barcelona, la seleccion brasileña, los All Blacks o los New York Yankees, y otros menos conocidos como el equipo de hockey sobre hielo sovietico o el de balonmano frances, Capitanes revela las siete cualidades fundamentales que un lider excepcional necesita. Basado en entrevistas exclusivas con atletas, entrenadores y dirigentes de decenas de paises, Walker explica si los lideres nacen o se hacen, y por que a veces se elige al capitan equivocado. No es solo un libro sobre deportes, es la clave de como se construyen grandes equipos y en que se basa el liderazgo exitoso.Reseña: Un buen libro sobre liderazgo que, muy inteligentemente, se hace pasar por un libro sobre deportes. Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times

Sam Walker examina en este fascinante ensayo la clave del éxito de los mejores equipos deportivos del mundo, y llega a sorprendentes conclusiones: la fuerza oculta detrás de los equipos más legendarios de la historia no es el entrenador, ni la estrella; no es el dinero ni la estrategia; es una cuestion totalmente distinta... Capitanes ha sido incluido en las listas:Top Business and Leadership Book de 2017 de Amazony13 Best Business Books of 2017 de CNBC Hace diez años, Sam Walker decidio contestar la pregunta mas controvertida sobre deporte: ¿cuales son los equipos mas exitosos de todos los tiempos? Mediante la estadistica, identifico los 16 equipos con mayores triunfos a su espalda en todos los deportes, desde el futbol, hasta el baloncesto, pasando por el rugby o el voleibol femenino. El siguiente paso era inevitable: ¿que caracteristicas en comun tenian estos superequipos? Segun avanzaba, Walker encontro un patron: todos ellos tenian detras un tipo muy especial de lider, un capitan, pero no el que uno esperaria. Eran anomalias heterodoxas, raros y poco sociables, no muy talentosos, malos comunicadores, rompian las reglas y, en vez de reclamar atencion, preferian un segundo plano. Unos capitanes muy diferentes de lo que se espera de lideres inspiradores. A partir de equipos tan famosos como el F.C. Barcelona, la seleccion brasileña, los All Blacks o los New York Yankees, y otros menos conocidos como el equipo de hockey sobre hielo sovietico o el de balonmano frances, Capitanes revela las siete cualidades fundamentales que un lider excepcional necesita. Basado en entrevistas exclusivas con atletas, entrenadores y dirigentes de decenas de paises, Walker explica si los lideres nacen o se hacen, y por que a veces se elige al capitan equivocado. No es solo un libro sobre deportes, es la clave de como se construyen grandes equipos y en que se basa el liderazgo exitoso.Reseña:Un buen libro sobre liderazgo que, muy inteligentemente, se hace pasar por un libro sobre deportes.Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times

The secret to winning is not what you think it is.It's not the coach. It's not the star.It's not money. It's not a strategy.It's something else entirely.The founding editor of The Wall Street Journal's sports section profiles the greatest teams in history and identifies the counterintuitive leadership qualities of the unconventional men and women who drove them to succeed. Fuelled by a lifetime of sports spectating, twenty years of reporting, and a decade of painstaking research, The Captain Class is not just a book on sports; it is the key to how successful teams are built and how transformative leadership is born.Several years ago, Sam Walker set out to answer the most hotly debated sports question: what are the greatest teams of all time? He devised a formula, applied it to thousands of teams and listed the 16 most dominant teams ever across all sports, from the English Premiere League to the NFL. But what did these freak teams have in common?As Walker dug deeper, a pattern emerged: all teams were driven by a singular type of leader, a captain, but not one you might expect. They were unorthodox outliers - awkward and disagreeable, marginally skilled, poor communicators, rule breaking and rather than pursuing fame, hid in the shadows. Captains, in short, who challenge your assumption of what inspired leadership looks like.Covering world renowned teams like Barcelona, Brazil, the All Blacks and the New York Yankees to lesser known successes of Soviet ice hockey or French handball, The Captain Class unveils the seven key qualities that make an exceptional leader. Drawing on original interviews with athletes, coaches and managers from two dozen countries, Walker questions if great captains are made or born, why teams pick the wrong captain and how the value of the captain can be revived.