Management by Baseball

Introduction and Information about the Author

This book was reviewed because it is an example of a book that combines human resource management theory with real world examples specifically from the game of baseball. Jeff Angus is the author of “Management by Baseball” which discusses management lessons that are aimed to assist the reader in becoming a better manager in the workplace. Angus uses his own personal management experiences as a consultant for start-up, entrepreneurial, big corporations, large and small agencies, and nonprofits. He writes about both business and baseball for numerous newspapers such as InfoWorld, CIO Insight, and The Seattle Times. Angus is also a member of SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research).  

General Summary of the work

            What makes “Management by Baseball” unique is the way in which Angus approaches management through the use of historical examples by specific baseball managers such as Earl Weaver, Maury Wills, Lou Piniella, Mike Scioscia, Ozzie Guillen, Ron Gardenhire, and John McGraw to name a few. Management in both the business and baseball worlds has many similarities as a variety of personnel decisions are made in order to attain optimal productivity throughout the organization. There are a series of step by step rules that should be followed to help improve the reader’s own personal management style and have a greater effect on others within his organization. The four main topics in the book are mastering management mechanics, managing talent, managing yourself, and managing change. Angus uses the analogy of a base runner rounding the bases in order to score a run. The topics represent the bases and the base runner would be the manger of a company.

Author’s Theses

The first base is mastering management mechanics which is step one in becoming a successful manager. This first skill is known as operational management which includes resources such as time, money, and tools of the trade (pg.9). Other objects are conceptual designs that include work processes, rules, and guidelines (pg.9). The manager must first understand the inner workings of an organization to better understand in what areas improvements can occur. An effective manager will collect feedback from a number of individuals throughout the organization so that he can assess the strengths and weaknesses within the company. This evaluation period is essential as it allows the manager to make a more informed choice about the future direction of the organization. During the decision making process one must find a balance between the past and the present while also taking into account emotional and rational thought. Sportswriter Leonard Koppett described decision making as “The whole purpose of every decision is to maximize your chances-in your own opinion-of making the next thing succeed” (pg. 69). A successful manager in both baseball and in business wants to make quality choices that will have positive impact on the organization as a whole.

Second base is described as the ability to manage talent. This includes the hiring, firing and optimization of employees. An organization must first recruit and select the proper personnel during the hiring process. Too many organizations use standard models when trying to attract new hire, what a successful organization will do is make sure that it has a balance of thinkers and doers. Many organizations end up struggling due to the fact there are too many yes men within the organization that are afraid to challenge the norms or question the daily operations in hopes of finding more effective ways of doing things in the future. Most organizations want to add superstars to the mix and when doing so underestimate the value of utility personnel that value their role within the organization and go about their business without asking for much in return. In baseball many teams want the superstar players although a team of individuals and stars does not usually result in a championship team. It is important that each player and member of the organization understand and embrace their role to perform at an optimal level as each member does their part to complete organizational objectives.  Many organizations will overemphasize one’s resume rather than the individual abilities and attributes that that individual can bring to the organization as a whole. Organizations are afraid of experimentation many times the fear of failure or lack of uncertainty leads to the status quo being maintained. However, risk can be greatly reduced through observation, measurement, and analysis of your staff to reveal and determine both individual and group strengths and weaknesses. Once the lessons have been learned it is important to apply them in a more effective manner and to use coaching to better prepare individuals through proper training.           

Third base is about managing yourself.  This step is similar to managing talent but the focus is on oneself. Many managers find it difficult to eliminate their own emotions and fall back on previous experiences when making decisions. This has a tendency to lead to knee-jerk behaviors and future mistakes as managers do not separate their personal objectives and choices with what will be best for the organization. Managers lean towards their personal strengths and bias because it is what they fully understand. A good manager however will separate himself from the equation when evaluating and making decisions by taking a holistic approach to management. Managers need to put aside their personal egos and agendas in order to do what is best for the organization. As human beings we all have certain behaviorism that can affect our decision-making at times such as uncontrolled anger, perfectionism, inappropriate intimacy, denial, uncontrolled niceness, and anxiety can have negative effects on managers when working with others. Good managers have achieved a level of self-awareness that separates them from the rest and truly makes them the type of leader that organizations want to have calling the shots as it will help to reduce and eliminate the number of mistakes that an organization makes. 

Home plate can be viewed as managing change and how to drive it forward. Change is full of uncertainties that at times call for a new and innovative approach to manage correctly. Mangers find it difficult to successful predict and counteract change the previous rules and guidelines simply may not be adequate anymore which just causes more uncertainty. In order to manage change a manager must observe, analyze and make key decisions in the present as to not fall behind the competition. Managing change is the most difficult step due to the fact that the first three steps before it need to be in already established.

Conclusion/ Reaction to Author’s Views

There are certain similarities between a baseball and business manager as both must develop and implement strategies that will help them have future success. The analogy between the bases and the steps to success business management is a fairly accurate one. This is because a manager must first understand what the organization is lacking and finds ways to manage resources more effectively moving forward. The most important resource that an organization has is its personnel because it is impossible for a manager to oversee and run the daily operations of a successful organization. Management must delegated and trust those individuals working under them to do their job as any organization is only as good as its weakest link. It is clear that many organizations do not always hire the best person as the selection process has a tendency to bring in similar people which can lead to group think. Angus does a good job of combining human resource management steps and rules with baseball history and examples that provide the reader with a greater understanding of what should be considered for an organization to take the next step towards success. There is no one way to run a successful organization. The most important thing is for management to have an immense understanding of the inner workings of its organization in order make the best possible decisions both for the present and future. “Management by Baseball” can be used as a tool to help improve the skills of a manager because it will get him thinking about the smaller issues that may have been overlooked in the past.

Reference

Angus, J. (2006). Management by Baseball. New York: Harper Collins (254 pages).