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The Five Tool Team

Few environments illustrate the cost and consequence of decision making better than sports. One bad decision can derail a lifetime of preparation in front of millions. The right decision can lead to fame, wealth, and glory. And sometimes, the best decision results in a loss—but it was still the right call.

In The Five-Tool Team: Decision Making as a Team Sport, Ricardo Valerdi reframes decision making not as an individual skill, but as a team competence. Inspired by sports legends like UCLA coach John Wooden—who famously began each season by teaching players how to properly put on their socks—Valerdi shows how small decisions can have outsized consequences. He shares his own story of a costly real estate mistake, illustrating how poor decision-making processes can have long-term impacts.

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Few environments illustrate the cost and consequence of decision making better than sports. One bad decision can derail a lifetime of preparation in front of millions. The right decision can lead to fame, wealth, and glory. And sometimes, the best decision results in a loss—but it was still the right call.

The Five Tool Team

Read exerpt

Focus

Look

Analyze

Scrutinize

Humanize

  • Having spent my career working on high-consequence, complex systems, I’ve learned that great outcomes depend on great decision processes. Ricardo Valerdi’s Five Tool Team delivers exactly that: a clear, disciplined, and human-centered framework for making better decisions in uncertain environments. By combining data, structure, and psychological safety, Ricardo shows how teams can surface better questions, challenge assumptions, and arrive at smarter, more resilient choices. This is the decision-making framework I wish every technical leader had.

    Mauricio Peña, Ph.D., Chief Safety Officer, Waymo

  • Most books on decision-making tell you what to think. This one shows you where you stand and how to get better. The Rookie-to-All-Star scorecard alone is worth the price of admission—it gives leaders a concrete tool for assessing their team's decision-making capabilities and identifying exactly where to focus development. Ricardo doesn't deal in abstractions. He gives you a rubric, a framework, and a clear path forward. I've worked alongside him and watched him apply these principles in real time. This book delivers what every leader actually needs: a way to measure what matters.

    Alex Auerbach, Ph.D., Performance Psychologist for the Jacksonville Jaguars, former Senior Director of Wellness and Development for the Toronto Raptors, and author of Called to Greatness

  • I have known Ricardo Valerdi for many years from his role as our NCAA Faculty Athletic Rep during my time as the Head Coach at the University of Arizona. He has always been someone I counted on to help advise and guide our student-athletes during their college careers. Ricardo brings a rare blend of engineering, sports science, and real-world team performance to The Five Tool Team.  His experience helping organizations like Major League Baseball, the US Army and the NCAA make better decisions is evident throughout his work.  Valerdi makes a compelling case that decision-making is a team skill – one that can be taught, trained, and sustained.  The book is a valuable resource for coaches and leaders committed to building smarter, more connected teams.  This book has given me great insight and understanding in my decision-making process!


    Mike Candrea, Eight-time NCAA softball National Champion Head Coach at the University of Arizona, Team USA Olympic Gold medalist (Athens 2004) and Silver (Beijing 2008)

  • The Five Tool Team captures the essence of championship teams: if the process is sound, the results take care of themselves. Ricardo Valerdi hits a home run in this regard. This is mandatory reading for my players, who will be able to apply these tools on the field, in the clubhouse, and in life.

    Jay Johnson, Head Coach, Louisiana State University baseball, 2-time College World Series Champion

  • Ricardo has written the book that I wish I had when I was starting my career in baseball. Decision making is what we do, not just in sports but in any profession, and this book is an excellent resource for thoughtful decision making in any domain. Let’s be clear, decision making can rarely be simplified down to a formula, but Ricardo provides well-articulated and well-researched guidance on improving decision making using the FLASH model, which is a brilliant framework for thinking about decisions. Ricardo’s writing is full of interesting and relevant anecdotes that are driven home with instructive ways of using his FLASH framework. Although now eleven years into my career, as the proverb goes, the second best time to read this book is now.

    Ehsan Bokhari, Ph.D., Assistant General Manager, Chicago Cubs

  • As a co-founder of multiple space startups, where split-second decisions could mean the difference between a successful launch and a spectacular failure. Ricardo Valerdi's The Five Tool Team captures this essence brilliantly, framing decision-making as a team sport with lessons from the court, field, and beyond. Valerdi blends examples from sports, tech, and the military to demonstrate the universality of strong decision-making principles. The decision-making scorecard is a game-changer for gauging your current skills and charting improvements, while the tangible 'what to do next' sections and reflective questions at the end of each tool-focused chapter empower leaders to align their teams with that scorecard. This book is a playbook for leaders who want to turn chaos into championship wins. Essential reading for anyone aiming to elevate their team's game.

    Jim Cantrell, Founding Team of SpaceX, Founder & CEO of Phantom Space Corporation, Author of Two Hours Until Dawn: What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Racing

  • Description goes hereRicardo is a fellow UA faculty member who has inspired me with his passionate and innovative approach to leadership, decision making, STEM education and inspiring our youth who are our leaders of tomorrow. I have had the privilege to have a lifetime filled with leadership opportunities. In the military in peace and war, in law enforcement, public health and medicine and academics. I find The 5 Tool Team is just the prescription that the world needs now to train and inspire our up and coming leaders in critical thinking and selfless decision making. Ultimately, all leaders are responsible for the destiny of others who trust us. Ricardo has provided us with an azimuth for critical decision making  which is necessary for successful leadership. A must read for all present and leaders!!

    VADM (Ret) Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS 17th Surgeon General of The United States Laureate Professor, University of Arizona


  • I have had the pleasure and honor of knowing Ricardo for well over a decade since he brought Science of Sport and Science of Baseball to our youth and teachers. Together we have impacted and inspired thousands of students from all backgrounds with a new way to look at the world through STEM. Now he will be doing similarly for all of us who are challenged daily with difficult choices through The Five-Tool Team. There is no greater authority to combine his wisdom, experience, engineering approach, and passion for sports to shape how we come to powerful business conclusions.

    Derrick Hall, President, CEO & General Partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks