{"id":12806,"date":"2018-03-25T01:27:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-25T08:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/?p=12806"},"modified":"2024-07-04T12:09:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T12:09:06","slug":"cultural-change-theo-epstein-cubs-curse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/cultural-change-theo-epstein-cubs-curse\/","title":{"rendered":"How Cultural Change Helped Theo Epstein end a 100 year Curse"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Cubs were \"the Lovable Losers\u201d of Major League Baseball. For over a century, the Cubs failed to win a World Series Championship year after year after year.<\/p>\n

The team was plagued by bad trades and consistent losses. Even notable players like Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, and legendary slugger Sammy Sosa couldn't save them.<\/p>\n

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Were the Cubs cursed?<\/em><\/h3>\n

Cub fans believed they were cursed. Some believed a goat contributed<\/a> to their losing ways.<\/p>\n

The superstition spread so far it was even thought to follow players after being traded away, as columnist Ron Berler wrote<\/a>, \"It is utterly impossible for a team with three or more ex-Cubs to win the World Series.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

After so many years of futility, even the most devoted fans believed losing was just the way things were. They never believed in their wildest dreams that their team could win a championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yet, in 2016, that dream came true. After 108 years of coming up short, the Cubs finally won the World Series<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some people called the victory a miracle. But Tom Verducci, the author of <\/span>The Cubs Way<\/span><\/a>, calls this win the result of a five year action plan of cultural change.<\/span><\/p>\n

The efforts of new management, led by <\/span>Theo Epstein<\/span>, sparked a new culture that transformed this group of lovable losers to powerful winners. <\/span><\/p>\n

Today we look at what those key lessons are, so you can bring cultural change to your team or company when it's needed, too.<\/p>\n

\"cultural<\/a>
PHOTOGRAPH: CHARLES REX ARBOGAST\/AP<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How Theo Epstein's Cultural Change Turned the Chicago Cubs into Winners<\/b><\/h1>\n

Baseball is much more than a sport. <\/span>It's a $10 billion a year industry.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Managing a team is like managing any other business. Executives have the daunting tasks of managing revenue and expenses, analyzing data, but most importantly, working to get the best from their <\/span>people.<\/b><\/p>\n

And Theo Epstein <\/span>loves<\/span><\/i> people. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts confirmed this after having dinner with Epstein:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"<\/span><\/i>[Theo] was the kind of person who treats people with respect.<\/i><\/b> He was honest and candid about his successes and failures. A lot of people defend themselves so that every decision looks like a tough one. Theo doesn't get defensive. He gets very honest about it.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When he was hired as President of Baseball Operations, his job was to organize a turnaround of the Cubs like he did for the Boston Red Sox in 2004.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

To accomplish this, Epstein executed on a five year plan that transformed the Cubs's culture of losing to one of consistent growth and victory. This is a strategy that any business can and should adopt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are the four key aspects of his cultural change plan:<\/span><\/p>\n

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1) Take the Long View.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Epstein achieved great success while working for the Red Sox. He helped build teams that won 2 World Series for a team that had a similar 86 year drought. However, he ended his tenure with failure.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the team won their second World Series title, their culture started to fall apart. As their fan base and revenue grew, so did workplace dysfunction. <\/span><\/p>\n

The expectation of winning 95 games per season started to overwhelm the players, causing them to consistently lose games.<\/span><\/p>\n

This fall from grace damaged the team's mood and morale. <\/span>The Boston Globe<\/span><\/a> revealed that players abandoned their work routine for mindless leisure:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The indifference of [players like] Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen\u2026 [from] their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season\u2026<\/span><\/i>[not showing] solidarity with their teammates in the dugout, violated an unwritten rule that players support each other, especially in times of crisis.<\/i><\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a leader with high emotional intelligence<\/a>, Epstein took responsibility for this negative cultural change:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"I blame myself for this more than anything. <\/span><\/i>I hate it when people blame their environment, because, especially in a leadership position,<\/i><\/b> you're responsible<\/strong> for how you react to your environment and how you change your environment, and being a positive force to change it for the better if you think something is toxic.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He believed failing to take time to recover from the championship caused the culture damage. When he proposed that the team take a bridge or break year to repair, he was met with fan and upper management backlash.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under so much pressure, he decided to leave Boston for a new opportunity.<\/p>\n

A new challenge: Bringing cultural change to the Cubs<\/h3>\n

After signing with the Cubs, Epstein vowed to never repeat such a failure. He decided that he would spend time and resources growing the Cub's culture and players over several years.<\/span><\/p>\n

His forward-seeking strategy caused the Cubs to lose many games early in his first season. This led to the <\/span>press that loved him when he was hired to question him:<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\"Culture<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2018-03-24-at-11-35-44-pm\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fortunately, Epstein was mentally tough. He didn't let the press affect his views. He understood that there was a price to pay in the short term if he wanted to maintain long-term growth.<\/p>\n

Lesson for you:<\/strong> If you're looking to bring cultural change to your company or team, you'll need to have a similar long term mindset. Positive change takes time and will include early setbacks and critics.<\/p>\n

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2) Hire for character first. <\/b><\/h2>\n

Epstein also believed poor character contributed to the dysfunction at the Red Sox's clubhouse in his final year there. When your best players or employees disengage from the workplace, and let their worst habits manifest, your culture will suffer. <\/span><\/p>\n

We see this regularly affecting all types of companies in analysis of the costs of disengaged employees.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Epstein's experience with the Red Sox caused him to prioritize character over talent with the Cubs:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Every year I did the job I just developed a greater appreciation for how much the human element matters<\/strong> and how much more you can achieve as a team when you have players who care about winning, care about each other, develop those relationships, have those conversations\u2026 it creates an environment where the sum is greater than the parts.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To transform the Cub's into winners, he had to hire high EQ<\/a> players. These men were going to help bring cultural change and embody the Cubs's new values.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A new leader: Anthony Rizzo<\/h3>\n

The best example of the character Epstein wanted was Anthony Rizzo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rizzo was a first baseman from Parkland, Florida. He was a big guy who needed improvement. However, he was a natural leader that attracted many people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scouting director Jason McLeod recounted moments when Rizzo expressed great leadership: <\/span><\/p>\n

\"The Instructional League in the Dominican Republic was an eye-opening experience for him, to see where those kids came from and how little they had. I'll never forget Anthony talking to his parents and saying, 'Is there anything we can do for these guys? How can we help?' Immediately a lot of us took notice. Here was a 17-year-old kid looking to do whatever he could to help these people he'd never met before.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rizzo had another great quality: his love for playing baseball. At 18 years old, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He feared that he would never play ball again.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, after six months of treatment, Rizzo was back in the game hitting home runs. His love for the sport motivated him to fight and overcome his cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Epstein decided he wanted more players like Rizzo:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"We want players who are invested in their teammates, we want players who are going to understand what it means to play in a World Series for the Cubs and their fans. We want players we trust can respond to adversity. We want players other players like being around. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We want guys who care about winning, and prioritize it, and are happy when the team wins and they are 0-for-4 and are pissed even if we lose and they are 3-for-4.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After, he found the type of athlete he wanted, Epstein developed a process that helped him find more like-minded players.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lesson for you:<\/strong> When you've built your team, have you hired people that embody the cultural change you want? Or have you hired some assholes that are holding everyone back<\/a> and disrupting your culture?  If you don't have the right people around you, and you aren't rewarding the culture you want to see, you can't turn your culture around.<\/p>\n

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3. Create systems to reinforce and grow your new culture.<\/b><\/h2>\n

To transform the culture, Epstein needed more high-impact players like Rizzo. They were the Cub's competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

However, they needed to find more of them.  A lot more. <\/span><\/p>\n

To accomplish this, Epstein created a new a scouting and player development system. <\/span>He replaced handwritten reports with spreadsheets that stored extensive details about a player's performance and character<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

He ordered scouts to record the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"...Give three examples of how that player responded to adversity on the field, and three examples of how that player responded to adversity off the field. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

They were to dig into the player's makeup<\/strong> by talking to just about anybody who knew him: parents, guidance counselors, teammates, girlfriends, siblings. He wanted as many questions answered as possible: <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n