Lesson #2: A Company is More About the Culture You Create
Lesson #2: A Company is More About the Culture You Create
Steinbrenner knew from the very day he became part owner of a sports franchise, that a winning team would be the result of more than just paying large sums for the cream of the crop players. He knew that if he wanted to retain the very best players – and the fans to support them – he would have to create a culture of being the best, and that was something that went beyond the scoreboards.
One such policy that Steinbrenner implemented towards creating a culture of success was a strict grooming policy for all males on the Yankees. Taken from the policies of the U.S. military, police and fire departments, no male player, coach, or Yankee executive was ever allowed to wear any facial hear except for a well-trimmed moustache, and hair was not to be worn below the collar.
Steinbrenner believed that if the Yankees were going to be the very best, they first had to look the very best. In their traditional pinstripe uniforms, Steinbrenner wanted his players to look clean cut and focused, as if they were the poster boys for a professional and successful baseball team. That, he believed, would not only foster a respect among his own players for their team, but also with fans and players of competing teams, eventually luring them in. It might have been a psychological ploy, but Steinbrenner fully wanted the psychological advantage to be his if it had to be anyone’s.
The hair policy was not popular with all the players, however, and led to quite public disagreements between many of them and Steinbrenner. One such instance was in 1981, when Yankee Goose Gossage was ordered to remove a beard he was growing. In frustrated response, Gossage shaved away the beard, but left an exaggerated moustache from his lip down through his jaw.
Again, in 1991, Yankee Don Mattingly was ordered to cut his long mullet hair style. Unlike Gossage, however, Mattingly flat out refused. As a result, he was benched. A media frenzy followed, with Steinbrenner becoming the target of repeated public mockery. Eventually, Mattingly would be reinstated. On occasion, David Wells also wore a goatee, informing the media that he would be willing to pay any fine for doing so.
Despite the occasional break from the policy, most Yankees have no problem abiding by this rule. They agree with Steinbrenner that their team is about more than the number of runs it scores, but rather that their team is one of historical significance both to New York and to the sport. They are working together to foster a culture of being the best, knowing that there is a certain psychological advantage to playing for a team that is the perennial winner both on the field and off.
Consequently, despite the seemingly strict policies of the Yankees, it was in fact Steinbrenner’s strategy to attract the very best players and management to the team.
Lesson 2 A Company is More About the Culture You Create
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“Owning the Yankees is like owning the Mona Lisa,” Steinbrenner once said.
Steinbrenner knew from the very day he became part owner of a sports franchise, that a winning team would be the result of more than just paying large sums for the cream of the crop players. He knew that if he wanted to retain the very best players – and the fans to support them – he would have to create a culture of being the best, and that was something that went beyond the scoreboards.
One such policy that Steinbrenner implemented towards creating a culture of success was a strict grooming policy for all males on the Yankees. Taken from the policies of the U.S. military, police and fire departments, no male player, coach, or Yankee executive was ever allowed to wear any facial hear except for a well-trimmed moustache, and hair was not to be worn below the collar.
Steinbrenner believed that if the Yankees were going to be the very best, they first had to look the very best. In their traditional pinstripe uniforms, Steinbrenner wanted his players to look clean cut and focused, as if they were the poster boys for a professional and successful baseball team. That, he believed, would not only foster a respect among his own players for their team, but also with fans and players of competing teams, eventually luring them in. It might have been a psychological ploy, but Steinbrenner fully wanted the psychological advantage to be his if it had to be anyone’s.
The hair policy was not popular with all the players, however, and led to quite public disagreements between many of them and Steinbrenner. One such instance was in 1981, when Yankee Goose Gossage was ordered to remove a beard he was growing. In frustrated response, Gossage shaved away the beard, but left an exaggerated moustache from his lip down through his jaw.
Again, in 1991, Yankee Don Mattingly was ordered to cut his long mullet hair style. Unlike Gossage, however, Mattingly flat out refused. As a result, he was benched. A media frenzy followed, with Steinbrenner becoming the target of repeated public mockery. Eventually, Mattingly would be reinstated. On occasion, David Wells also wore a goatee, informing the media that he would be willing to pay any fine for doing so.
Despite the occasional break from the policy, most Yankees have no problem abiding by this rule. They agree with Steinbrenner that their team is about more than the number of runs it scores, but rather that their team is one of historical significance both to New York and to the sport. They are working together to foster a culture of being the best, knowing that there is a certain psychological advantage to playing for a team that is the perennial winner both on the field and off.
Consequently, despite the seemingly strict policies of the Yankees, it was in fact Steinbrenner’s strategy to attract the very best players and management to the team.
Lesson 2 A Company is More About the Culture You Create
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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