PE 608 Scouting and Leadership

1. What level(s) of leadership (From Good to Great) did Billy Bean use to get his current

scouts to buy into his new system?

As I look at the leadership pyramid on pg. 20 (Collins, 2001), I find Billy Beane doesn’t fit under

one specific level of leadership. Beane used characteristics of a level 5 leader by facing the facts

when recruit new college athletes and getting the right people on the bus and wrong people off

the bus. On the flip side, Beane uses characteristics of the other levels of leadership because he

doesn’t give his coaches/scouts a time of day. A level 5 leader lets his staff have am equal say.

2. Explain how Billy Beane handled those who would not buy in, and tie that into the book

From Good to Great.

Billy Beane handled those who didn’t buy into his new system by firing them. I tie Beane into

the book, Good to Great, by looking into chapter 3. In chapter 3, Collins talks about first who

then what and this is exactly what Billy Beane did. Beane found out he wanted to go a new

direction to help him be successful with the upcoming draft because the A’s had seven first

round picks. Beane got the “right people on the bus and the wrong people off (Collins, 2001. Pg.

41).”

3. Billy Beane flipped the scouts' world on its head by changing the player evaluation

system. How would you go about changing the mindset and culture of a seasoned staff in

your sport?

I think it would depend on what school I will be coaching for. My coaching mindset won’t

change but the type of staff members who I want to work with would be. Also, how I recruit

would be different as well. For example, I wouldn’t recruit the same if I coached at Southwest
Minnesota State University compared to if I coached at Morningside College because the schools

offer different perks, are in a different state finically, and the requirements for acceptance are

completely different.

Works Cited

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Lewis, M. (2004). Moneyball. New York, New York: W.M. Norton & Company, Inc.