Where Winners and Losers are clearly defined
“It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.” Mickey Mantel
I loved the movie Moneyball. How can you not get romantic about baseball? Life and business can get complicated, but in sports, the winners and losers are clearly defined. That’s the attraction.
Here are some of my leadership takeaways from the movie:
Focus on the important stuff:
In the movie, Oakland’s manager Art Howe defies the directives of his GM, Billy Beane. Howe won’t use the players Billy wants to play. Finally, after days of Howe undermining his boss, Billy trades all the players so Howe can no longer play the players he wants.
There was a huge shift when Billy’s assistant, Peter, helped reinvent the team. The A’s started to win big time.
In one scene, Billy and Peter are watching the game on TV, and the sportscaster says, “The A’s now have seven wins in a row. There’s a calming influence about Art Howe. He’s managing an unorthodox team. It’s not a perfect roster but right now he’s the reason this team is winning and deserves the credit.”
Peter turns to Billy and says, “Did you hear that?” (Referring to Howe getting all the credit for the turnaround).
Billy responds, “All I heard is that we have seven in a row.”
A true leader focuses on what’s important for the good of all.
Be prepared to change:
Early in the movie, Billy makes the statement to his team, “Adapt or die.” He recognizes that to survive and turn his team around with the limited resources he’s been given, he will need to get creative and change strategically.
It’s important to remain clear about strategic objectives and not get stuck by stubbornly refusing to change directions when things aren’t working.
Believe in yourself:
At one point, when everyone else is questioning their rationality for building a new team, Billy says to Peter, “The right question is – do you believe in this thing or not? It’s a problem that you think we need to explain ourselves – we don’t – not to anyone!”
Always believe in what you are doing no matter what anybody else says or does.
Find the passion:
Billy’s passionate when he says, “I hate losing even more than I want to win.”
“Nobody ever made a third base hit that was afraid of the pitcher. The person who smacks the ball over the fence for a home run is always the one who steps up to the plate with conviction and determination in his heart.”
If you’ve lost your passion for your business, be prepared to strike out.
Recognize the wins:
Peter shows Billy a video clip where Jeremy Brown of the A’s steps up to bat, rips the ball down the middle, runs to first base, stumbles, falls, and crawls back to first. “Jeremy has always been so scared to run to second base,” Peter said, “that when the ball went 60’ over the fence and he had hit a home run, he didn’t even realize it.”
It was used as a metaphor for Billy to realize he had made a difference. Even though they lost the last game of the season…they had won. They had changed the system.
That’s what leaders do. They challenge the status quo.
