Bring Your Own Pencil: Bill Walsh's Playbook for Winning at Anything

by Dan Casey, Griffin Brand

Genres: Leadership

163 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2026

Reviews

[Anna Brand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read on leadership with a diverse range of stories spanning business, football, and the military. Highly recommend for anyone looking to think more intentionally about leadership and teamwork!

[Andrew Sowder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the layout of Bring Your Own Pencil. It flows well and is easy to read, bouncing between Bill Walsh’s career and stories of successful innovators. Like most of Walsh’s books, (both written by him and by others) this applies well beyond the sport of football.

Having been a fan of Dan Casey’s work for a long time, it is no surprise that this book is such a fun read. In the football world, it is rare to be an expert on both X’s and O’s AND culture. Dan has always been well-tuned on both. I recommend this to football coaches, but also anyone looking for inspiration in entrepreneurship.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought provoking read that gently intertwined the lessons of sports into both daily lives and the business world. Every chapter left me reflective and eager to improve in new ways.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read on leadership in all facets of life. Plenty of stories from outside of football this book works for anyone in a leadership position.

[Tyler Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this book. I’ve been following Dan on instagram for awhile as a football purist myself. He’s been advertising this book for awhile , so I figured, why not.

What started out as what I thought was a decent book with good principals that I could relate back to, (10 pages in) quickly degenerated into me realizing that 90% of it is chat GPT slop. The Elon chapter is what really solidified it.

I was actually super disappointed once I was realized what I was reading - anybody can put a couple sources into the engine and have it spit out a story. We are entering an era of media where everyone will write, sound, and express themselves the same, and this is just a symptom of that bigger disease. I guess I just expected more out of Coach.

[Elise Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a fascinating way to learn important lessons about leadership by intertwining concepts from football, the military, and business. Everyone will finish this book feeling more prepared to lead a team to be the best they can be. I’d recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position and to those that aspire to be in one (football-related or not)!

[Matthew Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book by Dan Casey. I love his daily newsletter, and his social media accounts. This book had fun insights into Bill Walsh's career, intermixed with business principles. Really great read for coaches especially, but for anyone that loves football, and wants to get better.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started off strong but eventually became repetitive. The comparison stories began to lose relevance and felt somewhat forced. With so many books in this genre available, I’d recommend choosing one that is more thoughtfully written and consistently engaging.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grab bag of leadership ideas, it has some high points but feels disjointed without connective tissue.

[Chris Savio · Rating 5 out of 5]

For short leadership book it packs a punch! Enjoyed the sports references.