Book Review-Legacy by James Kerr

This book came highly recommended by a number of coaches whose opinion I respect, even though it is yet another business book which touts their own brand of motivation/leadership credentials.  This book is unique because it tries to document the keys to success of one of the most mythical teams in world sports: the All Blacks of New Zealand. Indeed, their story has a magnetic attraction for those coaches who are believers in the simplicity and honesty of the All Black approach to working playing, and conducting their work.

Since the book is already a best seller by the time I got to it, I fully expected a slick, by the book business tome, structured to present a lesson each chapter and the ubiquitous anecdotes which support the central point that the author wished to make. Most business books seem to come off as insincere as they tried to make their points. Mr. Kerr, however, has an unadorned style. He takes his own advice in regard to the power of telling a story and tells the story of the All Blacks sincerely and adroitly.

Some comments on the structure and style of the book. Mr. Kerr jumps in both feet right away, there are fifteen numbered chapters which are neatly summarized in the sixteenth, and the first unnumbered, chapter. Each chapter ends with a final summary page which succinctly encapsulates the lesson with an aboriginal saying and a short catch phrase. This structure allows the reader to easily reach back into the chapters and get the idea behind each chapter, as well as use the summary to create their own environment from these ideas.

The chapters though are the gold of the book. Each chapter contains a good number of anecdotes and descriptions of what the All Blacks coaches did to create their unique culture and belief system. It is refreshing to read this book because the anecdotes are relayed without overly dramatizing the stories. In other words, Mr. Kerr does not rely on being overly dramatic to sell books.

I recommend this book to anyone who are inspired by the mythology of the All Blacks, want to know the philosophy and a bit on the implementation of the ideas in real life but want to be spared the usual business/leadership book treatment.