Money Ball and Marine Leadership
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
is about Baseball. So what could that possibly have to do with Marine Corps Leadership?
Moneyball happened because of the following question: "how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games during 2000-2002? The incredible gap between rich and poor teams suggested that you couldn't win unless you had big bucks. The Yankee payroll was 3 times more than Oakland's in 2002 ($126M vs. $40M).
Oakland's General Manager, Billy Beane, was able to lead Oakland in an entirely new direction because he was willing to rethink the traditional baseball and business model. He was forced to go against the the baseball establishment norm, including many old timers in his organization.
How this book applies to Marine Leaders.
-Beane was willing to think outside the box. He bucked conventional wisdom. When nobody else listened to the non-baseball people, he did. He heard what they said, empowered them and was able to apply it to his organization in a way that had never been done before.
-He had the courage of his convictions and was willing to go up against the baseball establishment, including many of his subordinates (scouts). He was willing to take this risk because he knew he was right and it was the only way for him to accomplish the mission (win).
-He based his decision making on facts. His use of computer models minimized risks to his organization.
-He wasn't afraid of change.
How do the following rules apply to your organization (think decisions, people, training etc.)
Billy Beane's 5 abbreviated rules for trading:
1. No matter how successful you are, change is always good. There is no room for the status quo.
2. The day you say you have to do something, you are screwed. Because you are going to make a bad deal. You can always recover from the player you didn't sign. You may never recover from the player you signed at the wrong price.
3. Know exactly what every player in baseball (read the Marines in your organization) is worth to you (in terms of leadership, strengths and weaknesses).
4. Know exactly who you want and go after him. (Make a decision and stick with it)
5. Every deal you do will be publicly scrutinized by subjective opinion. To do this well, you have to ignore the newspapers. (If you know you are right, don't worry about criticism from subordinates, peers or your seniors).
Resources for Marines
is about Baseball. So what could that possibly have to do with Marine Corps Leadership?Moneyball
happened because of the following question: "how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games during 2000-2002? The incredible gap between rich and poor teams suggested that you couldn't win unless you had big bucks. The Yankee payroll was 3 times more than Oakland's in 2002 ($126M vs. $40M).Oakland's General Manager, Billy Beane, was able to lead Oakland in an entirely new direction because he was willing to rethink the traditional baseball and business model. He was forced to go against the the baseball establishment norm, including many old timers in his organization.
How this book applies to Marine Leaders.
-Beane was willing to think outside the box. He bucked conventional wisdom. When nobody else listened to the non-baseball people, he did. He heard what they said, empowered them and was able to apply it to his organization in a way that had never been done before.
-He had the courage of his convictions and was willing to go up against the baseball establishment, including many of his subordinates (scouts). He was willing to take this risk because he knew he was right and it was the only way for him to accomplish the mission (win).
-He based his decision making on facts. His use of computer models minimized risks to his organization.
-He wasn't afraid of change.
How do the following rules apply to your organization (think decisions, people, training etc.)
Billy Beane's 5 abbreviated rules for trading:
1. No matter how successful you are, change is always good. There is no room for the status quo.
2. The day you say you have to do something, you are screwed. Because you are going to make a bad deal. You can always recover from the player you didn't sign. You may never recover from the player you signed at the wrong price.
3. Know exactly what every player in baseball (read the Marines in your organization) is worth to you (in terms of leadership, strengths and weaknesses).
4. Know exactly who you want and go after him. (Make a decision and stick with it)
5. Every deal you do will be publicly scrutinized by subjective opinion. To do this well, you have to ignore the newspapers. (If you know you are right, don't worry about criticism from subordinates, peers or your seniors).
Resources for Marines
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Beane
Posted by Leading Marines.com at 8/19/2011 3:07 PM 
Categories: Leadership ~ Books
Tags: Money Ball Decision making Courage of convictions change is always good Marine Leaders Billy Beane
Categories: Leadership ~ Books
Tags: Money Ball Decision making Courage of convictions change is always good Marine Leaders Billy Beane
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