The Captain Class: The Hidden Force that Creates the World's Greatest Teams

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How does Walker’s data-driven approach to analyzing leadership compare to other business or leadership books you’ve encountered (for instance, Jock Willink and Leif Babin’s 2015 Extreme Ownership, which relies more on anecdotal evidence)? Did the statistical rigor make his arguments more or less compelling than books that rely primarily on anecdotes?

2. Walker challenges many beloved sports figures and much conventional leadership wisdom. Which of his conclusions did you find most difficult to accept, and why do you think certain leadership myths persist despite evidence to the contrary?

3. The book focuses exclusively on sports teams to derive leadership principles. To what extent do you think lessons from athletic competition translate to corporate environments, creative collaborations, or community organizations?

Encourage readers to reflect on how the book relates to their own life or work and how its lessons could help them.

1. Walker describes how elite captains often push ethical boundaries through “intelligent fouls” and calculated aggression. Have you ever been in situations where achieving team success seemed to require compromising traditional standards of fair play? How did you navigate that tension?

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