The wily
fox and super motivator Bruce Bochy ponders his next move as his SF Giants won their eighth consecutive
postseason elimination game over the
Washington Nationals and set the stage for perhaps another World Series
appearance ~ but most certainly an early and well deserved baseball Hall of
Fame selection.
Chester Spell, an associate professor of
management at San Jose State University,
says Bochy epitomizes what management consultant Jim Collins calls a "level-five leader,"
someone who can transform a company from good to great through a "paradoxical
combination of personal humility plus professional will."
Byron Deeter
is a partner at Bessemer Venture
Partners, was also part of four national championship rugby teams
at UC Berkeley under renowned coach Jack Clark, and he also speaks
highly of Bochy.
He says managers can learn two lessons from
Bochy. One is that "culture
matters." Before games, you would see players jumping up and down
in the dugout, just having fun. Instead of telling them to get serious for the
big game ahead, "Bochy does the opposite; he allowed the team to be
themselves. They really enjoy playing together and play better when they are
loose and relaxed." In business, "helping
establish a culture in whatever way is right for that company is time and money
well spent. Team bonding activities may in some cases seem childish, like the
pranks going on in the Giants' dugout," but they help when the
going gets rough, he adds.
The other
lesson is "team first," he says. "People joke about
how baseball is an individual team sport .. Sports,
like business, is full of prima donnas. But a good manager, through consistent
actions, sends the message ~ we are all a unit, no one is above the team."
Deeter says Bochy's decisions not to
reactivate left fielder Melky Cabrera
after his drug suspension to preserve the team dynamic, and to transfer
struggling starter Tim Lincecum
to relief are good examples of his team first ethic. See article ~ http://www.sfgate.com/business/networth/article/What-business-can-learn-from-Bruce-Bochy-3991592.php
San Francisco's Bruce Bochy has won 1,594 games in 20 seasons, nearly 300 more than any other current manager. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press
Bochy's
peers appear to agree ~ with a recent poll of NL managers selecting Bochy as the
best in the league. Then there's what the numbers say, namely that he's a
Hall of Fame manager in waiting.
Bochy
has won 1,594 games in 20 seasons, more than Hall of Fame managers Dick
Williams, Earl Weaver, Miller Huggins and Whitey Herzog and nearly 300 more
than any other current manager. Barring another losing streak, he'll soon pass
Tom Lasorda for 19th place on the all-time list for victories.
Of
the 18 managers ahead of him on that list, 13 are in the Hall of Fame. And if the Giants
win the NL pennant this season ~ they've won two of the last three ~ he'll
become the 23nd manager to win more than three league championships.
The
other 22 have plaques in Cooperstown.
"He's
very quietly putting together a Hall of Fame career," said the
Angels' Mike Scioscia, the second-winningest active manager. "When
you talk about Joe Torre, about Tony La Russa, about Bobby Cox, about guys that
have made it, Boch is going to be right there when it's all said and
done."
But
what makes Bochy special as a motivator ?
It's Bochy's no nonsense approach and rock solid temperament as well as his ability to adapt to the changing times and players.
Quite
simply, Bochy cares about his players and his players know it. They play and are inspired to reach higher
levels and win for him ~ and there is no
better example than Hunter Pence.
The Giants’
Hunter Pence at the outfield wall, catching a ball hit by the Nationals’ Jayson
Werth to save the game. Credit Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
His players love and
respect Bochy and if he is indeed the wily old wizard making all the right
moves, as he did in the 2012 World Series against the Tigers, than Hunter Pence
is the driving soul force of the Giants making them believe in themselves by his
heroics on the field and his passionate leadership in the dugout and locker
room. Buster Posey is the steady anchor of the Giants but Pence is their passion and desire.
Pence and Bochy were
meant for each other because Pence personifies Bochy's
deep inner drive and leads on the field by example and completely
believes in his skipper ~ "He's got a lot of poise. When your
leader is a rock, it leaks into your team," said Pence, who has played for
five managers during his career.
I
may have given up on the Giants for a short time this year, especially after
they blew a nine game lead in July and I indeed had a short term fling with the
A's before Billy Beane sold their soul and team leader (Cespedes) to the Red
Sox for Lester, but I never gave up on Bochy who continues to amaze me with
his patient leadership and baseball acumen.
Make
no mistake about it, the Giants are the team to beat this year and it won't be because of their talent ~ quite simply they are
all paid extremely well and have won the gold in 2010 and 2012 ~ they are the
team to beat because they want to win for their grizzly old father figure Bruce
Bochy who has never given up on them ~ they want Bochy in the Hall of Fame.
You heard it here first.
Allen
L Roland, Ph.D
http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/sf-giants-bochy-heading-for-hall-of-fame.html
Freelance Alternative Press Online
columnist and heart centered spiritual counselor
Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and
private Skype consultations at allen@allenroland.com
Allen L Roland is also a
lecturer and shares a weekly political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on
www.conscioustalk.net
