Winners Dream Summary

1-Sentence-Summary: Winners Dream will inspire you to get up and get moving to make your biggest goals happen by sharing the incredible rags to riches story of Bill McDermott, who went from humble beginnings to CEO of the biggest software company in the world simply by having a vision of what he wanted in life.

Read in: 4 minutes

Favorite quote from the author:

Have you ever had a moment where you just knew what you were made for? That you were finally confident, without any doubts, that you were going to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer, or whatever your dream was?

If so, you know how powerful these epiphanies can be. But life usually gets in the way and makes it hard for us to make our goals become reality. The path is difficult, we fail, experience setbacks, and have fears that we’ll really make it. 

You don’t have to struggle anymore because Bill McDermott’s story is here to inspire you, no matter what background you come from, to get out there and reach your dreams. His book Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office will show you how to pave the way to ultimate success in business and life!

Here are 3 things that I learned about winners from this book:

1. If you want to become a winner, you need to get a big goal that lights you up inside and make sacrifices to make it happen.
2. Be the kind of manager and person that keeps people inspired and loyal, not the kind that makes them leave.
3. Achieving your wildest dreams and becoming a champion aren’t as valuable as the journey to get there.

“Weeee are the chaaaampions!” Actually, not yet, but we’re about to learn how!

Lesson 1: Set a massive goal that fills you with fiery energy, stop at almost nothing to make it happen, and you will become a winner.

These days getting your dream job might seem impossible. So many companies require loads of experience for even entry-level positions. To make things worse, there always seem to be dozens of other candidates that are way more qualified than you regardless of the position. 

So how can you really set yourself apart? The best candidates, the ones that usually end up getting the job, are those with the most passion and preparation. If you genuinely care about getting the position and can show that you’re determined to do it well, then you’ll get the job.

The author’s interview with his first job with Xerox is the perfect example of how this works. He impressed the sales manager by sharing his own experience of making it through hardship. McDermott expressed how much work he’d put in just to have a chance at getting the job, and he ended up being hired!

Passion will get you places but the real power comes when you combine it with planning and preparation. 

Another experience the author had at Xerox shows just how this works. An open sales manager position that caught his eye, but company policy didn’t let people of his age or experience apply. 

Keeping his dream in mind, McDermott had a meeting with the hiring manager anyway in which he outlined a thorough plan for how he would handle the position should he get it. His hard work paid off when Xerox made an exception to their rule and hired him even as inexperienced as he was!

Lesson 2: In the words of McDermott himself: “people don’t quit companies, they quit managers.”

In 2015 I graduated from college and got my first real professional job. It felt amazing to finally be an adult. I enjoyed it for a while, but it all went south when the management changed. 

My boss was ruthless, micromanaging, and mean. He turned what was once a nice place to work into a place I dreaded to go. 

Thankfully, I’ve been out of there for a while now, and I couldn’t be happier. I didn’t quit the company, I quit my manager.

So what does it take to be a good leader?

First, learn about your employee’s lives and what matters to them. Ask them questions about home life or their dreams, for example. This helps you make adjustments that will make their work experience and productivity better.

You might, for example, find out you have a team member who has a family member in the hospital and be able to offer them flexibility. 

Next, make a big deal out of every success. This gives everyone an incentive to keep pushing forward. The author even sends some of his top-performing employees on vacation to Hawaii!

Last, don’t allow poor performance as it undermines the culture of high-performance that you want to establish and support.

Lesson 3: The process of becoming a champion holds far more rewards than crossing the finish line does.

One time in high school I got an essay question on an exam that asked me if accomplishing a goal or working toward it feels better. I felt stumped, but as I wrote about my experience trying out for the basketball team, I discovered something important about life. 

The journey is more enjoyable than the destination.

As you try to achieve your dream, you’ll come across many different people who help make it possible. Some become your best friends and even family. As the author reflects back on his career, he realizes that the people are what made it spectacular.

It then became clear that the original dream he had made for himself was now much bigger than he originally envisioned. 

Companies should take this to heart by focusing more on people and the good they do in the world than on metrics. 

McDermott’s own company, SAP, is a perfect example of this with its many social projects. The business also encourages employees to go on a “social sabbatical” to take their knowledge and share it with younger businesses. 

In the end, your relationships and the difficulties you overcome to rise to the top are far better than any riches you may enjoy when you get there.

Winners Dream Review

Wow, Winners Dream is a really inspiring book! I always enjoy a good rags to riches story and this one didn’t disappoint. The amazing thing about this one also was that it gives great advice for both people who want to succeed in working for someone else and who want to venture out on their own.

Who would I recommend the Winners Dream summary to?

The 23-year-old who is doing summer sales and wants to make it big, the 47-year-old who has a shot at becoming CEO but needs to let go of some limiting beliefs, and anyone that wants some inspiration to get up and make their career dreams happen!

Last Updated on September 19, 2022