22 April 2009
Management
Whole New Ball Game!
What’s the difference between the people you employ and manage, and a professional sports team? If you subscribe to the principles outlined by Robert W. Keidel in his book “Game Plans: Sports Strategies for Business,” you’d have to answer, “Not much.”
Robert W. Keidel, a university professor who teaches Management at the LeBow College of Business, believes that any company—no matter the size—can be compared to either a baseball, football, or basketball team (or a combination of all three) and that employers can gain valuable insight into successfully hiring and managing their people if they keep in mind these sports metaphors.
In his book, Keidel explains that if your organization is like a baseball team, then the players (employees) are using their own initiative, pretty much independently of each other and the managers. If it’s like a football team, then the manager (the coach) calls all the shots. And if it’s like a basketball team, then the players (employees) are coordinating themselves as a group with the manager (coach) acting as a catalyst.
Baseball
In baseball, Keidel argues, team-member contributions are relatively independent of each other and the players are widely dispersed geographically. The manager or coach has very little to do with the actual strategy of the game.
A good example of a baseball-like organization in business is the sales force made up of highly-motivated individual sales stars who require very little direction and are required to work together only on occasion.
Football
In football, every player is directly involved in the play, every player has a specific position and task, and the overall strategy is closely controlled by the coach or manager.
A good example of a football-like business is a company that makes and distributes tires. Every employee is expected to perform a specific task and the entire process is closely controlled by the person or people at the top.
Basketball
Basketball players interact with each other throughout the game. Working closely is the key to their success. Every player must be able to assume a variety of tasks and, due to the speed of the game, decisions are made on the court by the players and they must be able to function as a unit without constant direction from the coach.
Your company might be basketball-like if you have a team of problem solvers working on a specific task or challenge in which all the members interact with one another and require very little input from management.
Beyond the sports analogy
Once you know which which “sport” your company is playing, you’ll be better able to hire the players with the right skills. Don’t expect football-like employees who need a lot of direction and are comfortable doing one specific job to function well when placed in a baseball-like job where they have to shine as individuals and work independently, perhaps even geographically isolated from their co-workers.
Keidel also stresses the importance of knowing your sport when it comes to effectively managing your people. “Playermanagement in baseball is the management of independence; in football it is the management of dependence; in basketball it is the management of interdependence,” he argues.
Although at first glance the idea of comparing a business to a ball club may seem unusual, Keidel demonstrates throughout his book that it not only makes sense, but that it also helps managers see their employees in a different light—one which can help managers put together a winning game plan for the future.
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