Article by Stephen Ferber
When do you earn the right in business to ask, in essence, “what’s in it for me?”
And, when you have earned that right to ask the question, what if you don’t get the right response? How will you respond or act?
I was watching the movie Moneyball last night, based on a true story, about the Oakland A’s Baseball Team general manager Billy Beane, and his challenging of the Major League Baseball system and defying conventional wisdom when he is forced to rebuild his small-market team on a limited budget. Despite opposition from the long-time staff of the ball club, media, fans and their own field manager (Art Howe), Billy Beane hires and works with a young, number-crunching, Yale-educated economist in an attempt to develop a player roster in an unconventional way, and during the course of one season, forever changes the way the team is evaluated and the game is played.
One scene in the movie depicts Billy Beane being confronted by the A’s field manager, Howe, after he coached the team to a very successful season. Howe tells Beane he wants a contract extension, beyond the conclusion of the upcoming season, before the new season starts, he cannot manage the team going forward “under the cloud of a one-year contract” and if he doesn’t get an extension it would be something that would signify a lack of confidence on the part of Beane and the A’s organization. Howe also goes on to cite his very successful winning season the prior year as a reason he deserves the contract extension. Howe doesn’t get the contract extension prior to his final year, in order to give him the peace of mind he wants.
Bummer, huh? Yeah! Fair? Doesn’t sound like it.
A guy does a phenomenal job, has the results to back it up and doesn’t earn the confidence and support of his boss and organization to continue, or up, their bet on him by getting his current contract extended early. Little did Howe know at that moment, Beane had already planned to take the organization in a completely new direction, so he probably first needed to see if Howe embraced that direction or not before locking his organization into a longer-term agreement with him. Later in that same offseason, Beane addressed the head Scout for the team who challenged his change in direction, to which Beane replied, “adapt or die.” Well, the scout chose the latter. He didn’t actually die, but gave Beane very good reason to fire him.
Did the Manager earn the right to ask for a contract extension?
I believe yes, and probably a pay increase too. No doubt, he was qualified for the job, as demonstrated by his career results when he was first hired by the A’s to be their field manager. And now he had proven his worth by producing phenomenal results for the Oakland A’s. He brought noticeable value to the table and proved his worth, however…
Was Art Howe right to interpret his boss’s hesitancy to extend his current employment contract as a lack of confidence or faith in him as the field manager of the team?
My answer to this is I don’t think so, or better yet, no need to jump to that conclusion; does it really matter anyway? Like in life, change is inevitable in organizations and no matter how tenured and experienced we are in our fields, we will all have “adapt or die” choices. Companies and organizations always face a constantly changing environment in which they operate and must be adept at adapting and changing not only as a means to survive, but to thrive. Likewise, companies and organizations are operated and managed by people whom we count on as a team to achieve a common goal and make companies successful.
Although the exact definition of “Team” differs by source, I like this one (no, not from Wikipedia) as my ideal and most complete expression of what a “Team” should be: “A group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project. Team members (1) operate with a high degree of interdependence, (2) share authority and responsibility for self-management, (3) are accountable for the collective performance, and (4) work toward a common goal and shared rewards(s). A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.”
It is my belief that Howe, the field manager, had 3 choices after he was made aware he would not be getting a contract extension beyond the upcoming season: (1) embrace the final year of his contract with the attitude and confidence of proving his worth and value all over again, even under a new system, (2) finish out the last year of his contract with a “lame duck” attitude and with the mindset he would already be seeking new employment the following year or (3) attack the final year of his contract with the attitude of proving his worth and value all over again, knowing he had nothing to lose, and should he not be able to contribute to the “Team” under the new system despite his best efforts, then move on. After all, what would he have to lose under option 3? Shouldn’t we always do our best? Isn’t option 2 the easy way out and time wasted? And what will become of someone who is always choosing option 2? Time is too valuable to waste personally and in our careers? And, if someone is always choosing option 2, aren’t they always settling into a mindset of dispassionate complacency? Shouldn’t we always challenge ourselves and, likewise, accept the challenge when we are required to prove ourselves, our value and what we bring to the table, no matter how experienced or qualified we are or may feel, and no matter how many times we can say of our past we rose to the challenge and succeeded? Lastly, can any company achieve its full potential with a “Team” of dispassionate and complacent people?
What path would/will you take when faced with a similar situation? And, what type of organization or “Team” do you want to work with?
On a side note, when you have earned the right to ask “what’s in it for me?” – make sure you watch the movie Jerry Maguire first and then don’t be afraid to demand “Show Me the Money!!!!!”
