No Bull: Life-Changing Conversations with Bill Campbell

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar discuss why Bill didn’t give opinions but did reduce situations to language a fourth grader could understand. They also cover the challenge of managing engineers, the ordinariness of firing your friends in Silicon Valley, and the time Randy became a CFO without knowing how to use Excel.

Donna Dubinsky, ex-Apple executive and CEO of Numenta, joins Paul Martino and Randy Komisar again to discuss how Bill ran the board of Columbia University, why he escaped from an Apple cruise on a helicopter, and the time he agreed to stop swearing. Donna offers her take on who taught Bill.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar reconnect with PayNearMe CEO Danny Shader and chat about why a thousand people in one room all thought they were Bill’s best friend. They discuss how Bill would listen by talking to you and how he always found a way to relate to someone, even if they were completely different from him.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar revisit their conversation with Eureka CEO Dave Jakubowski to discuss the impact of like hiring like and how Bill anticipated a soulless Silicon Valley decades before everyone else. They emphasize Bill’s advice to think ahead and the problem with not seeing the forest for the trees.

Randy Komisar chats with Bill’s stepdaughter, Kate “Katie-Kate” Bocci, about the personal side of Bill: his love, grit and dedication to his family and friends. They discuss his family-only wedding in Montana, his upbringing in Homestead, PA, and non-negotiable Sunday night family dinners. She hopes she didn’t f*ck it up, Billy-Bill.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar chat with Silicon Valley Advisor David Kinser about why the National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Trophy was more important to Bill than his work at Apple, Google or Intuit combined. They discuss how loyalty was a make-or-break in Bill’s tribe, and why David’s children still look up to Bill to this day.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar chat with PayNearMe CEO Danny Shader, the student who Bill Campbell talked about the most. They focus on the bona fide definition of culture in the work place and why integrity means nonstop respect for your team.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar are joined by Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz to discuss why Bill talking out of both sides of his mouth was actually a good thing and how he could also understand both sides of a deal.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar recall Bill Campbell’s concerns about wage slaves, speculators, MBAs, and the decline of true entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. Randy reveals some material from Bill’s earlier career: coaching college football.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar are joined by ex-Apple executive Donna Dubinsky, the student who Bill Campbell spoke most highly of in all his years of coaching. They discuss how Bill found unusual talent and fostered diversity of opinion on his teams. Donna shares how she and Bill handled Steve Jobs’ attempt to mess up Apple logistics, and Randy gets in trouble with Bill for giving Donna a crappy office.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar are joined by Facebook’s Dave Jakubowski. Paul talks about why he fired himself from Aggregate Knowledge and hired Dave to replace him. The group discusses why “blue collar” was Bill’s highest compliment for anyone.

Paul Martino and Randy Komisar kick off the podcast by revisiting what it was like to be part of Bill Campbell’s tribe of mentees. Find out why Bill yanked Randy into a dark conference room and didn’t turn the lights on.

Here’s a sneak peak of No Bull, a podcast created by Bullpen Capital that distills the wisdom of our friend, and Silicon Valley’s coach, Bill Campbell.