CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 2:02
Sam Hinkie's Early Path from Oklahoma to Bain
David Senra begins with Sam Hinkie's upbringing in Oklahoma, his love of numbers, and his early jobs at Ernst & Young and Bain Capital. At a lunch with mentors he said he wanted to be a sports GM, and they laughed at him.
- •Sam grew up mostly in Marlow, Oklahoma, was valedictorian, and majored in finance
- •He interned at Ernst & Young, which gave him early exposure to sports business
- •He was the first University of Oklahoma student hired by Bain Capital
- •He first said "Sports GM" aloud at a lunch with mentors and was laughed at
- 2:02 – 4:32
Moneyball and Quitting Bain for Stanford
After reading Moneyball in two days, Sam left Bain to pursue becoming a general manager. At Stanford he asked mentors hundreds of questions and sent letters to NFL teams offering to intern.
- •Theo Epstein's hiring and the book Moneyball fed Sam's idea of using data in sports
- •His parents thought he was crazy when he quit
- •He met Parag Marathe, Billy Beane and Michael Lewis
- •He spent spring break on a road show visiting football teams
- 4:32 – 5:45
Houston Texans Internship and Learning to Earn Influence
Sam interned with the Houston Texans and built a draft-value tool while commuting from Palo Alto. Coaches resisted his data approach, teaching him that he had to earn the right to influence stakeholders.
- •The eight-week internship was extended into his second year of business school
- •He built a draft software tool to evaluate players' relative value
- •Coaches resisted ideas from a baby-faced 26-year-old
- •Success required earning the right to get people to listen
- 5:45 – 7:21
From the Houston Rockets to the 76ers GM Job
Sam talked with Les Alexander and was hired by the Rockets at 27, working with Daryl Morey to build a top analytics department. After a failed first interview with the 76ers, he was hired as their GM in 2013.
- •Les Alexander understood risk and return as a former bond trader
- •Sam became the youngest VP in the league
- •Sam turned down the first 76ers interview after they couldn't get on the same page
- •He was hired as 76ers GM at 35, about 10 years after telling his parents his goal
- 7:21 – 9:37
After the Dream Job: Teaching and 87 Capital
Sam's time in Philadelphia ended, and he returned to the Bay Area to teach at Stanford. In 2020 he launched 87 Capital, which David calls a better fit for who Sam is.
- •Sam tells students they have two ears and one mouth and should use them in that proportion
- •87 Capital's name comes from Robert Caro's Means of Ascent and Lyndon Johnson's 87-vote win
- •David describes Sam as thoughtful, earnest, direct and a voracious reader
- •Sam enjoys working with the people he invests on behalf of
- 9:37 – 13:24
Introducing Bill Gurley's Talk and Book
David introduces Bill Gurley's talk and book on running down a dream, explaining how he used its ideas to build the podcast and how this connects to Sam. Gurley studies three luminaries and stresses immense passion.
- •The book is Running Down A Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love
- •David found the 2018 MBA talk on YouTube and used its ideas to build the podcast
- •Sam discovered the podcast and became a close friend of David's
- •Gurley studied three people who reached the top in different domains
- •Immense passion is a recurring phrase in the talk
- 13:24 – 14:51
Bobby Knight Builds Relationships Outside the Gym
The first luminary is basketball coach Bobby Knight. Bill Gurley says what mattered most was what Knight did outside the gym, befriending top basketball minds and coaches in other sports. The chapter includes a sponsor break.
- •Knight befriended five top basketball minds in his first five years of coaching
- •He begged to sit next to coaches at a luncheon and kept following up
- •He studied figures such as Pete Newell and Bill Parcells and befriended a swimming coach
- •He won the national championship in an undefeated season at Indiana and finished with 902 wins
- 14:51 – 16:53
Bob Dylan: Studying Folk Music and Hitchhiking to New York
Bob Dylan studied every folk album he could, listening in record stores and at friends' homes. He then hitchhiked 1,200 miles to New York to be near the performers and Woody Guthrie.
- •He got his first guitar at 10 and listened to records for hours in booths
- •He hitchhiked from Minneapolis to New York with a guitar, a suitcase and $10
- •Woody Guthrie was his hero
- •He studied performers in Greenwich Village until he could copy their songs accurately
- •The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963 made him a star
- 16:53 – 20:41
Danny Meyer: Quitting a Lucrative Job to Study Restaurants
Danny Meyer left a high-paying sales job after his uncle told him to open a restaurant. He spent about two years studying icons and working in restaurants, then opened Union Square Cafe at 27.
- •He was making about $125,000 a year at Checkpoint and planned law school
- •His uncle's comment the night before the LSAT woke him up
- •He kept notebooks on twelve restaurant icons and worked in European restaurants for free or even paid to work
- •He searched over a hundred locations before opening Union Square Cafe
- •He called the two years of study the best work he ever did as a student
- 20:41 – 22:25
Principle One: Find Your Passion
Gurley's five guidelines begin with finding a profession you have deep personal interest in. Passion can't be faked, and the real test is whether you enjoy the preparation.
- •Choose a career for your own passion, not for status, compensation or your family's wishes
- •Without passion you will burn out, and someone with real passion will outrun you
- •Bobby Knight said the will to prepare to win matters more than the will to win
- •Ask whether you enjoy the preparation, not just winning
- 22:25 – 25:50
Principle Two: Hone Your Craft
The second guideline is to be obsessive about learning your field, including its history and pioneers. David and Gurley illustrate it with Knight's index cards, Dylan's expeditions and Danny Meyer's barbecue research.
- •Study the history and know the pioneers; no top performer David profiled skipped this
- •You need to collect more information than others, not be the smartest
- •Knight sat on Pete Newell's floor working through 74 cards of plays
- •Danny Meyer ate at barbecue restaurants in Texas and tasted fourteen variations of chopped pork in North Carolina
- •Information is freely available, so there is zero excuse not to be the most knowledgeable
- 25:50 – 28:19
Principles Three and Four: Mentors and Peer Relationships
Gurley advises seeking mentors, treating them with respect, and staying in touch with them throughout a career. He also urges deep peer relationships and sharing knowledge freely, which David says he does with other podcasters.
- •Document what mentors say, send notes and gifts, and keep pursuing mentors after success
- •Gurley met Stan Druckenmiller and Howard Marks and said it changed some of his actions
- •Networking is about connecting with people who share your interests, not social skills
- •Share best practices; it isn't a zero-sum game
- •Peers can be in other fields, as Knight learned from a swimming coach
- 28:19 – 31:10
Principle Five: Be Gracious and Pay It Forward
The final guideline is to give credit to mentors and peers and to become a mentor yourself. Knight's relationship with Pete Newell and later Coach K illustrates it, and Gurley closes with the Tom Petty-derived title.
- •David contrasts the go-getter with the go-giver
- •Give credit to those who helped you and send letters and gifts
- •Knight shared everything with others after learning it from Newell, and he mentored Coach K
- •Danny Meyer says you get more by giving more
- •Gurley notes none of these people started out for money, and the work they did on their own mattered most
