I could hardly put this book down. It reads like a John Grisham novel but is actually non-fiction. Other than pure enjoyment of reading this book, I also took some leadership tidbits.
1) Bill had a small but competent group of people in his organization. He didn't have the luxury of being able to build a huge team with massive budgets. So, his team was focused on what they had to do and worked day and night to do their duty. Lesson #1 - if you have a small group, be focused and get people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done.
2) Bill used outside counsel regularly and wisely. Lesson #2 - partner with top-notched counsel and utilize them often. Don't settle for mediocre counsel.
3) Whenever he needed to sway public opinion, Bill always had a contact; media, government, etc. Lesson #3 - identify areas that we may need to utilize and collect connections.
I'd say #3 was the most impactful lesson from the book. The difference between Bill getting his way and not, was his ability to utilize a contact in the right place with the right title, not even necessarily an old buddy, but someone who he may have met at an event or had dinner with once.
So now, I am a collector of connections.
If I had 3 thumbs, I'd give this book a three thumbs up.