Bill Gallagher

Growth coach and advisor to CEOs and teams. Speaker on authentic leadership for business.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

Is a Viking burial legal? A burning boat on the water? Seems like it should be.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

Really important reality check for your over-reliance on AI...
https://t.co/Js3Uc2iPbN

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

CEO AI challenge: use it all day every day before you spend money, hire or launch initiatives.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

You can't use a big laptop in coach seats. Even with extra legroom.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

@PeterDiamandis There's extreme concentration. If you look at an night photo of the whole country, you see that population is concentrated densely in areas. The empty spaces lack services, utilities, and are not easy to buy.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

The easiest path to growth is almost always one you can’t see from inside.

I built a free 10-min diagnostic that finds it. Growth paths, competitive positioning, strengths you’re undervaluing.

CEOs scaling $1M–$10M — need testers while I refine it:

https://t.co/HRAPc8ljdl

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

Markets go up and down. Things move left and then right. Another week goes by. The candles burn out but soon new candles take their place. I'm grateful for this moment.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

Nothing collapsed. The team was better without me in the middle.
I’ve been sitting on that realization for 16 years. Finally writing the book.
Busy Is Broken — September 2026
https://t.co/zdwOmRdq1r

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

In 2009 I was the bottleneck for everything in my own company. Classic founder trap.
So I spent 10 months learning to actually let go. Then took my family to Italy for a month in 2010. Zero calls. Zero meetings.
I was certain something would collapse.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

In the midst of so much fear and real suffering around the world there is also love and whimsy. Enjoy some frosting and sprinkles on your pie today.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

A business lesson I learned from sailing: Less Sail, More Speed https://t.co/u1nf0Wl5V6 via @LinkedIn

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

@Aviation_Intel Galloway in another arena

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

How Do Leaders Stay Clear-Headed in the Age of AI with Bill Gallagher https://t.co/3V8Fjk9qi8

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

@tom_peters Miss your presence.

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

Last quarter I rolled out Microsoft Copilot to 4,000 employees.

$30 per seat per month.

$1.4 million annually.

I called it "digital transformation."

The board loved that phrase.

They approved it in eleven minutes.

No one asked what it would actually do.

Including me.

I told everyone it would "10x productivity."

That's not a real number.

But it sounds like one.

HR asked how we'd measure the 10x.

I said we'd "leverage analytics dashboards."

They stopped asking.

Three months later I checked the usage reports.

47 people had opened it.

12 had used it more than once.

One of them was me.

I used it to summarize an email I could have read in 30 seconds.

It took 45 seconds.

Plus the time it took to fix the hallucinations.

But I called it a "pilot success."

Success means the pilot didn't visibly fail.

The CFO asked about ROI.

I showed him a graph.

The graph went up and to the right.

It measured "AI enablement."

I made that metric up.

He nodded approvingly.

We're "AI-enabled" now.

I don't know what that means.

But it's in our investor deck.

A senior developer asked why we didn't use Claude or ChatGPT.

I said we needed "enterprise-grade security."

He asked what that meant.

I said "compliance."

He asked which compliance.

I said "all of them."

He looked skeptical.

I scheduled him for a "career development conversation."

He stopped asking questions.

Microsoft sent a case study team.

They wanted to feature us as a success story.

I told them we "saved 40,000 hours."

I calculated that number by multiplying employees by a number I made up.

They didn't verify it.

They never do.

Now we're on Microsoft's website.

"Global enterprise achieves 40,000 hours of productivity gains with Copilot."

The CEO shared it on LinkedIn.

He got 3,000 likes.

He's never used Copilot.

None of the executives have.

We have an exemption.

"Strategic focus requires minimal digital distraction."

I wrote that policy.

The licenses renew next month.

I'm requesting an expansion.

5,000 more seats.

We haven't used the first 4,000.

But this time we'll "drive adoption."

Adoption means mandatory training.

Training means a 45-minute webinar no one watches.

But completion will be tracked.

Completion is a metric.

Metrics go in dashboards.

Dashboards go in board presentations.

Board presentations get me promoted.

I'll be SVP by Q3.

I still don't know what Copilot does.

But I know what it's for.

It's for showing we're "investing in AI."

Investment means spending.

Spending means commitment.

Commitment means we're serious about the future.

The future is whatever I say it is.

As long as the graph goes up and to the right.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

Any allergies? Yes, checked luggage gives me hives.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

@PeterDiamandis Maybe it’s time to think about another path. More flow, better code, more efficient processors, innovation over force, a little less caffeine.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

It’s Friday. Time soon to stop working. Be with family. Go on a date. Move your body. Sleep well. Reset. Write down your ideas, but save the real work for later. And whatever you do—don’t email, text, or call your team this weekend. Take the break.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

So here’s my question for you:
What do you and your family really need from you right now?

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

In 2010 I finally did something I thought was impossible: stepped away from my company for a whole month.

[Bill Gallagher @billgall]

Lesson: there’s never a “perfect time” to step away. You have to decide, trust your team, and do it.