This book offers insights from sports, health care, business and government to help leaders get better outcomes. Here are some comments from experts in the field: Paul Levy, who managed the cleanup of Boston Harbor and became the nation’s most acclaimed hospital CEO, is a leader of uncommon skill and breadth. In Goal Play!, he offers powerful lessons in leadership by drawing on experiences ranging from coaching girls’ soccer to managing the aftermath of catastrophic medical mistakes. How should a top executive communicate with front line staff, and with the outside world? How can a manager nurture great teams while celebrating superstars? How should a leader react when things go wrong… and right? After reading this insightful, unblinkingly honest, and extremely readable book, you’ll have the answers you need to be a more effective mentor, coach, and leader. (Robert Wachter, Professor of Medicine, USCF) Paul Levy’s book is a must read for any CEO who recognizes that the traditional hierarchical approach to leading an organization in the complexity of our times will not deliver sustained success and would like to consider another approach. Paul’s book is also a great read for young leaders who want guidance as they attempt to master the challenges of leadership in times like these that are charged with volatility, complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity. Paul’s advice and wisdom are served up intertwined with the metaphor of the complexities of soccer and the lessons learned by an experienced coach who has also had a remarkable career as a creative leader of large complex organizations with problems that threatened them with failure. (Eugene Lindsey, CEO of Atrius Health) Paul Levy offers insightful lessons in leadership, cleverly weaving in delightfully up-lifting experiences from his years on the touchline to frame his powerful message. These light hearted stories, plucked from the diary of a soccer coach, offer the executive interested in any expanding their leadership skills a chalkboard full of sound “drills”. (Bill Taylor, General Manager, Four Season Hotel, Boston) Time is extremely precious – only more so when you’re out trying to change the world. This book is a good use of that precious time – offering hard won insight into how we can nurture the leader in ourselves – and as importantly in those around us. Learning from what hasn’t worked is as critical to that end as what has, and Paul offers inspiring – even entertaining – perspectives culled from the soccer field. It takes a certain amount of bravery to admit that we could stand to improve our own leadership styles, but as Paul’s words (and actions) have shown, when it comes to leadership, bravery is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and those around us. (Alexandra Drane, Eliza Corporation) In a day and age where ‘leader’ is a title appropriated by tin pot despots and self-serving egotists, Paul Levy’s story of servant leadership needs to be digested and considered. No industry more than health care stands in the messy intersection of public policy, academic debate, and business interest. In short, clear prose, Levy shows us how a real leader can stand in the midst of those tempestuous seas, and lead. A must read. (Jeff Swartz, former CEO, Timberland) Levy’s metaphorical soccer book on business management provides those of us in leadership positions an opportunity to hit the reset button, while we assess our own effectiveness in today’s ever changing world. (Roger Berkowitz, CEO, Legal Seafoods) Paul’s book gives very powerful, very human, and very practical insights on how leaders can unlock amazing potential that all employees have. Anyone who reads this book will feel inspired to lead and learn. (Boris Levin, President, NP Medical)
Paul F. Levy has led several complex organizations during a multi-faceted career. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston from January 2002 to January 2011. BIDMC is one of the nation's preeminent academic health centers, providing state-of-the-art clinical care, research, and teaching in affiliation with Harvard Medical School. While in that position and afterwards, he has been an advocate for patient-driven care, eliminating preventable harm, transparency of clinical outcomes, and front-line driven process improvement. He appears around the world as a speaker on these topics. He is author of a widely read blog (now) entitled "Not Running a Hospital," and was one of very few hospital CEOs to have shared thoughts publicly about hospitals, medicine, and health care issues.
Before BIDMC, Levy was the Executive Dean for Administration at Harvard Medical School. Before joining HMS, he was Adjunct Professor of Environmental Policy at MIT, where he taught infrastructure planning and development and environmental policy for seven years. He also maintained an independent consulting practice, providing strategic, negotiation, and regulatory advice to firms in the energy, water, and telecommunications arenas.
Mr. Levy has served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Chairman of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and Director of the Arkansas Department of Energy. At the MWRA, he had primary responsibility for the "Boston Harbor Cleanup," one of the largest pollution control projects in the world. In operating the water transmission system for 46 communities at the MWRA, Mr. Levy carried out an aggressive demand management program which decreased water consumption by 15% over a three-year period. As Chairman at the MDPU, Paul Levy regulated the electricity, telecommunications, natural gas, and water utilities in Massachusetts. While at the Arkansas Department of Energy, Mr. Levy directed energy programs, planning, policy and advocacy for the State, including such areas as energy conservation, renewable and fossil energy resource development, and regulatory and legislative matters.
During much of this time, Levy coached and refereed youth soccer. Later, he started playing on an adult team. His book Goal Play! draws lessons from that soccer experience into the corporate setting.
