If You Love Them, Let Them Leave

Last week Major League Baseball was rocked by an incredible story that screamed “Blog About Me!”.  Cliff Lee, an 8 year veteran pitcher who’s had the chance to play in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Seattle and Texas, was the most sought after free agent of the off-season.  The Rangers, who had his services for a mere 15 starts (plus the post-season) were so enamored with him that they attempted to “break the bank” to keep him in Texas.  The Yankees, who have more money than any other team and like to throw that money around, offered him the second most lucrative contract for any pitcher in the history of the league (second only to their other starter, C.C. Sabathia).  Lots of other teams had visions of sugarplums as well thinking that they had a chance.

In the end, Cliff Lee shocked everyone and returned to Philadelphia.  A “dark horse” that didn’t even show up on the radars of any of the sports writers, Lee accepted LESS money (mm less to be exact, from the Yankees) to come back and play with the teammates that he really liked.

“You can definitely sense the fact that these guys step up and are up for a challenge and rise to the occasion and come up big when they need to,” Lee said before the 2009 World Series. “It’s not just one or two guys, it’s everybody. It’s a special team. To win the World Series (in 2008) and be back just proves that fact. There’s a lot of confidence here. Everyone expects to be successful.”

His former (and now current) teammate Raul Ibanez did a nice job of reinforcing what Lee was saying:

“We have a bunch of guys who are not concerned with getting attention,” Ibanez said. “They just want to win and they don’t care if they get the credit for it. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have that mind-set, and that’s not by accident.

No one doubts that Cliff Lee is a special, special talent.  What else can you deduce when a single guy shows up and changes a team’s entire track record?  Some examples:

• In 2008 Cliff arrives in Philadelphia and they win their first Championship since 1983.  They returned to the World Series in 2009.
• In 2010, after a mid-season trade, he arrives in Arlington and helps the Rangers reach their first World Series in Team History.

WRAP UP:

What can you learn from Cliff Lee, Philadelphia, Baseball and the Yankees? Culture really does make a difference.  Below, I’ve included a video (one of many) that were created by people who LOVE this guy and are so excited to have him back in Philly – quite a different story from a place like NYC where the money’s great but the egos are huge, the spotlight is brighter and the pressure is exponentially stronger.

One other thought: Jack Daly shared with me that people who make a Career Change typically regret their decision twice in the first 30 days of being in the new role.  If you had someone great who left your organization recently for more money or for more spotlight, you might consider calling them and taking them to lunch just to catch up.  You just might be surprised how many times the grass wasn’t greener for them on the other side of the fence and, with just a bit of urging, they’d happily come back.

BONUS QUESTION:

Author’s Note: The song that accompanies this video is explicit – and I’m not going to apologize.

Jonathan Davis is the author of the HireBetterBlog and the CEO & Co-Founder of HireBetter.

About Jason Myers

Jason Myers is the editor-in-chief of the Texas Entrepreneur Network and can be reached at jason@txenetworks.com