Dr No - Why Most Legal Teams Lose Before the Game Even Starts

Hey lawyer,

If you’re reading this while drafting a contract, rejecting a proposal, and explaining to a country manager why their brilliant idea might land everyone in court—congratulations, you’re playing the classic GC symphony.

The question is: are you conducting the orchestra or just playing the harmonica?

Most in-house lawyers don’t fail because they lack intelligence.
They fail because they lack a system.

Let’s fix that.

The Score Takes Care of Itself: Bill Walsh’s Playbook for Legal Leaders

Bill Walsh turned the 49ers from the league’s worst team into Super Bowl champions in just three years.
His secret? Process over outcomes.

When you execute the details with excellence, "the score takes care of itself."

For your legal department, this means:

1. The Standard is the Standard

Walsh didn’t tell players to “do their best.” He defined exactly what “best” looked like for every role—down to how a quarterback should place his feet.

🔹 GC Translation:

• Does your team know what “excellent legal work” looks like? Or are they shooting at invisible targets?

• When they submit work, do they get clear feedback—or just gut reactions?

• How does your team handle internal emails and calls? (“It depends” is not a strategy.)

Clarity beats talent.

2. The 16-9 Rule: Pick Your Battles

Walsh observed that championship teams typically win only about 16 of their 25 significant decisions. The secret is knowing which 16 matter most.

🔹 GC Translation:
Not every legal issue is a Super Bowl moment.

• Is your team treating every battle with equal intensity?

• Or have they developed judgment to know which ones truly shape your company’s future?

Play to win, not just to play.

3. Excellence is Contagious (So Is Mediocrity)

In a team, bad habits spread faster than good ones. A player who trains at 70% drags everyone else down.

🔹 GC Translation:

• If you tolerate lawyers who do the bare minimum, that is your standard.

• If your team only reacts instead of anticipating, that is your level.

Raise the bar or lower your expectations.

4. The Leadership Leap

Walsh’s biggest insight? A leader’s job isn’t to solve problems. It’s to teach others how to solve them.

🔹 GC Translation:

• If your legal department can’t function without you, you haven’t built a system—you’ve built a bottleneck.

• How much of your weekly time is spent directing vs. teaching?

Measure success by what happens when you’re not in the room.

5. Patience with People, Impatience with Performance

Walsh was ruthless about results but patient with people. He gave room for learning, but not for stagnation.

🔹 GC Translation:

• Train your team to be better than you.

• Accept mistakes made while learning, not out of negligence.

• If someone doesn’t improve after feedback, that’s not your problem—it’s theirs.

You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your standards.

6. Sweep the Sheds → Lead by Example

New Zealand’s best rugby players clean their own locker rooms after every game.

🔹 GC Translation:

• If you only give orders but never get your hands dirty, no one will respect you.

• If you don’t model excellence, you can’t demand it.

• If you don’t understand the business the way the CEO does, you’ll always be “the legal guy.”

When Walsh took over the 49ers, he learned every job on the team—from marketing to security.
Then he asked everyone to raise their game.

Great teams don’t rise to their leader’s vision. They sink to their leader’s habits.

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Final Thought

What serves your company better?
❌ A legal department obsessed with spotting every risk.
✅ A legal department that finds the safest path to yes.

Or, put more bluntly:
Are you the Department of No or the Department of How?

And a personal one:
When you face a new challenge, is your default setting to defend your limitations or expand your possibilities?

Which one is your setting?

See you at the top,

Rosa & Manuel