Culture of Excellence

Colin Cerniglia

• Publisher: Talent 409
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781087892887
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Sport & Exercise Science
• Index: Biological Sciences

HOW DO CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP IMPACT THE PERFORMANCE OF A TEAM?

For the past thirty years, one organization in baseball has stood taller than all the rest: the New York Yankees. In Culture of Excellence, Colin Cerniglia takes us inside baseball's most successful franchise to uncover compelling and useful lessons in leadership.

Culture of Excellence is transformative in its premise: it shares strategies you will want to apply and knowledge you can acquire to effectively improve your team and motivate your people. The Yankees are the premier franchise in baseball, but in spite of all the excellence, their organizational structure wasn't always intact. You'll discover how one of the most powerful owners in sports history, by changing his leadership style, positively altered the fortunes of the franchise long after he has passed away. And, you'll see how the people of the Yankees have powerful stories that illustrate the crucial elements of excellence that can lead to trust and transformation while offering insight into the constantly evolving business of baseball.

WITH THREE FOUNDATIONAL PILLARS, YOU CAN BECOME A MORE EFFECTIVE LEADER AND BUILD A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE THROUGH STORIES FROM THE YANKEES.

Chapter One

The Boss

The scope of a leader’s responsibility (and influence) in modern sports has changed dramatically over time, and never before has there been more at stake for the position. Given the enormous revenue taken in and investments handed out, it’s more important now than at any point in history to have strong organizational leadership—from top to bottom. The gamble is too high, and the financial impact is too great, to have leaders that produce dumpster-fire results. No longer can leaders carouse and repeatedly prove themselves incompetent without facing public ridicule or putting their job in serious jeopardy.

Leadership sits at the core of explaining the factors that influence good or bad business decisions. Thus, this book’s examination of influential figures within the New York Yankees’ franchise. Understanding the folks at the top of command—ownership, front-office executives, managers, and coaches—helps us better discern the entire organizational structure and philosophy.

I believe that there is no better person to start with than a man simply known as “the Boss.”

Who Is the Boss?

George Michael Steinbrenner III was born on July 4, 1930, in Rocky River, Ohio. From birth, it seemed that Steinbrenner’s father, Henry, instilled in his son a perfectionism and will-to-win-competitiveness that came to define his management style and tenure with the Yankees.

Steinbrenner was a football guy, growing up watching the Big Ten Conference in college football and also playing the sport. During his youth, victory came through team play, self-confidence, and enthusiasm that amounted to the highest level of dedication; but most importantly, American football players in the mid-twentieth century were known for their tireless and committed work ethic. That persona came to describe the man who later became known as the Boss.

By 1967, before his baseball career, Steinbrenner became the majority owner of his father’s shipbuilding business, the American Ship Building Company, where he got his first taste of the entrepreneurial world. The Boss flexed his businessman’s muscles and proved himself to be adept at leading the company; he dramatically increased revenue from $46.9 million in his first year to $73.7 million by 1972. But, while the family business was good to him, Steinbrenner was desperate for a career “sexier” than that of shipbuilding.

In 1971, he had a shot to shoot: the Cleveland Indians were for sale, and Steinbrenner put together an investment group to strike a deal for his hometown Major League Baseball (MLB) team. On December 6, Steinbrenner and his group agreed to buy the Indians for $8.6 million. Steinbrenner was joyful at the thought of entering into the sports industry, telling people, “This is my dream. I can do this. I have the people with the money.”

One can only assume the rage that must have ensued when Steinbrenner learned the deal had been killed at the last minute by the Indians’ then-majority owner, Vernon Stouffer. Stouffer thought he could get $10 million from someone else for the franchise (which he eventually did), and Steinbrenner thought his chance to make an impact in sports was over. Little did he know that a more promising opportunity would present itself just about a year later.

A Brief History Lesson About the Yankees

The New York Yankees have one of the richest histories in sports. Legends such as Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Mariano Rivera have donned the famous Yankee pinstripes. When the Yankees purchased Ruth from the Boston Red Sox in 1920, the franchise catapulted into an unprecedented run, which saw them win twenty-nine American League (AL) pennants and twenty World Series in a forty-five-year period. Never before or since has there been such an impressive streak of dominance, not just in baseball, but in all of sports.

Nevertheless, it’s true that anything good must come to an end. The conclusion of the Yankees’ superiority led them into a dark period that few would have ever predicted. In 1964, CBS, the broadcast television and radio network, bought 80 percent of the Yankees from partners Dan Topping and Del Webb, and two years later would purchase the remaining 20 percent stake from the former majority owners. But from the start, it was clear that the marriage between the powerhouse station and baseball’s most mighty franchise would not be a happy one.

The fall of the “old-time” Yankees can be at least partially attributed to poor business practices prior to CBS’s entering the equation. In 1962, Topping and Webb began cutting investments in younger players, which left the CBS ownership with an aging roster of superstars and few capable replacements. The club was also very resistant to signing African American ballplayers, and throughout the 1940s and 1950s they repeatedly missed out on stars they had legitimate opportunities to sign, such as future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

By the end of 1971, the CBS-led Yankees had rung up a loss of $11 million.¹ The loss was driven by declining game attendance, television revenues that fell 80 percent from their peak, and worst of all, they had become second-class citizens in their own city, thanks to the rise of the start-up Mets.

The Yankees made the playoffs a total of zero times under CBS’s guidance and posted losing records four times, finishing tenth out of ten teams in 1966. The Mets, meanwhile, captured their first World Series title in 1969, and they had promising young talent to power them for subsequent title runs.

The future of the Yankees was in serious doubt, but the question remained: Could they return to prominence under more capable leadership?

During negotiations for the Indians in 1971, George Steinbrenner developed an alliance with the Indians’ Vice President of Operations Gabe Paul. Paul, a baseball junkie, had strong relationships with almost all the owners and top officials in baseball. After the failed Indians sale, Steinbrenner instructed Paul to let him know if another franchise went on the market. In the summer of 1972, Paul caught wind that CBS was putting the Yankees up for sale, and he informed Steinbrenner, who immediately put together a group to purchase the franchise, including many of the same people from the unsuccessful Cleveland transaction.

CBS had failed mightily in its attempt to lead the Yankees, and Steinbrenner saw his second attempt at baseball glory as only a formality. Negotiations moved fast between CBS and the Steinbrenner-led group. The purchase was completed on December 29, 1972, for $8.7 million, and the breakdown gave Steinbrenner the largest individual interest at 11 percent, totaling $168,000.

George Steinbrenner had officially entered the world of baseball.

Steinbrenner’s Vision for Excellence (1973–1990)

When George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, he had a vision of returning the franchise to prominence. It’s a process that all leaders undergo as they lay the foundation for a bigger and better future.²

One of the first projects Steinbrenner supervised was the renovation of the original Yankee Stadium. Opened in 1923, it was the first facility in North America with three tiers, and it held historical significance, as it symbolized the glory days of the Yankees. By the time Steinbrenner took control of the organization, the stadium had seen better days, both structurally and from the Yankees’ team. The change was needed, and Steinbrenner made sure the plan, which was designed before he officially took over, was completed to his expectations.

The results of the restoration were mind-blowing for the time. The outside of the stadium remained mostly the same, but on the inside 118 columns reinforcing each tier of the grandstand were removed. These columns had long restricted visibility for paying patrons, and their removal allowed for more of a full-field view.³

The stadium’s roof and metal frieze (the facade) were replaced by a new upper shell, and brighter lights were added above. The playing field was lowered by seven feet, and new drainage was installed. Escalators and ramps were added in three sections to make the upper deck more accessible. A new middle tier was built, featuring a larger press box and sixteen luxury boxes. The middle section of the center field bleachers was converted to “the black seats,” which is a safety feature ensuring the white baseball wouldn’t disappear from the view of the hitter. A wall was built behind the bleachers, and on it was the first instant replay display in baseball.

In short, Steinbrenner had the intuition to realize that the fan experience in the ballpark had to improve, in addition to his on-field team, if he wanted to see an increase in ticket sales.

The Boss was also a pioneer for the free-agency movement in baseball, which is an open market of ballplayers, if you will. In the early 1970s, many baseball owners saw free agency as a tactic that would kill the game, but Steinbrenner’s vision was different. He saw it as a way to rebuild the Yankees even faster and had a willingness to open up his checkbook to make it happen.

The Boss’s first major catch in free agency came on New Year’s Eve of 1974, when he inked Jim “Catfish” Hunter to a five-year, $3.25 million deal. Then on November 29, 1976—fresh off the team’s first World Series appearance since 1964—Steinbrenner signed Reggie Jackson to a five-year, $3.5 million contract which, at the time, made the Yankees’ new right fielder the highest-paid player in the game. One year later, on November 23, 1977, Rich “Goose” Gossage signed a six-year, $3.6 million deal to complete a formidable bullpen for a club that had just won its first World Series since 1962.

During those times, more often than not, when the Boss needed to fill weak spots, he could plug those holes with players via free agency. Initially, it was a formula that worked; Steinbrenner quickly rebuilt the Yankees’ franchise, and by 1976 they were once again a perennial playoff contender. The Yankees were swept four games to none in that year’s World Series by the Big Red Machine (Cincinnati Reds) but returned to the World Series in each of the next two seasons, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games each time.

Unfortunately, the euphoria of the new Yankees dynasty would erode quickly. In 1979, the Yankees slid to fourth in the standings. They returned to the playoffs in 1980 but were swept by the Kansas City Royals, three games to none, in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). In the strike-shortened 1981 season, they made it back to the World Series but fell to the Dodgers in six games. Few people, inside or outside of baseball, would have predicted that it would be fourteen seasons before the Yankees would return to postseason play.

Steinbrenner’s Leadership Profile

There used to be a wooden nameplate at Yankee Stadium atop George Steinbrenner’s desk, engraved with the motto, “LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY.” This was a reference to United States Army General George Patton, a person Steinbrenner admired greatly, so it’s no surprise that Steinbrenner’s leadership style closely resembled that of the former American military leader.

Both Steinbrenner and Patton have at times been described as misinterpreted. What’s not misunderstood is that Steinbrenner was a “hard-nosed businessman,” “impulsive and demanding,” and “manic, fiercely competitive, and frequently guilty of outrageous behavior.” In public, he could be a tyrant and a bully. “The mad shipbuilder,” as he was also known, was obsessive, unforgiving, and hands-on during his reign as Yankees owner.

Former Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek, at the time a broadcaster, complained in a 1978 op-ed to the Fort Lauderdale News that Steinbrenner “manipulates people and makes players fear for their jobs.”

Obviously, Steinbrenner’s behavior is not quite what one thinks of when they envision a leader—at least not an effective one. Steinbrenner’s first “term” (1973–1990) as commander-in-chief would accurately reflect his conduct. The Yankees, on and off the field, were in a constant state of chaos. Steinbrenner shuffled general managers fourteen times in his first seventeen seasons, in addition to seventeen on-field managerial changes.

It seemed continuity was impossible to achieve under the Boss’s watch.

Regardless of the instability, George Steinbrenner had more energy than anyone in the Yankees’ organization, and he set the pace for the entire franchise. Tom Verducci, of Sports Illustrated, wrote in his collaborative book with (former Yankees’ manager) Joe Torre, The Yankee Years, that, “Unlike most of the other owners, who busied themselves with their business world interests and found pockets of time to check on their baseball team, Steinbrenner went to bed at night and woke up in the morning with the same thought: We have to win. He was ruthless in his goal.”

Steinbrenner always had a willingness to pour money back into the Yankees; he was never concerned—and maybe wrongfully so—about keeping a profit. The Boss saw other franchises determined to lock down on ...

Table of contents

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• The Bronx Zoo and Birth of a Model Organization
• LEADERSHIP
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• The Manager’s Seat
• Chapter Three
• Evil Empire Architects
• KEY POINTS: LEADERSHIP
• PILLAR TWO
• Culture
• Chapter Five
• Summary of Player-Led Teams
• Community
• Summary of Community
• KEY POINTS: CULTURE—PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY
• PILLAR THREE
• Scouting and Drafting
• Summary of Scouting and Drafting
• Development Isn’t Always Linear
• Moneyball, Sabermetrics, and Analytics
• Summary of Moneyball, Sabermetrics, and Analytics
• KEY POINTS: PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
• Epilogue
• Colin’s Favorites
• Let the Talent 409 Leadership Academy Help You or Your Team Discover Your Talent Altitude!
• Glossary of Sports Terms
• References
• About the Author