Customer Reviews

Joe Torre's Ground Rules for Winners: 12 Keys to Managing Team Players, Tough Bosses, Setbacks, and Success

Book for Employee Communicators too!, October 14, 1999

In the introduction, Torre explains that although his experiences are in baseball, the principles and advice his gives in his book are applicable to any business or organization that has team leaders and team players. His advice is broken out into 12 short chapters-each one dedicated to a success strategy. We, at Davis & Company, love the fact that Chapter 3 focuses on communication. "Straight Communication: The Key to Trust" addresses how important clear communication is to having your team strive toward the same goals. Torre stresses that communication is everybody's responsibility-not just the leader's. Yes this is a simple concept, but it's illustrated nicely with anecdotes and stories about the players and situations where clear communication was key.

Pros -- Business book without being dry. An easy read. Success strategies are explained through real-life, easy-to-remember (and relate to) examples.

Cons -- Some might view this book as too baseball-focused, with sports analogies run amok.

Excerpt -- "We often neglect to learn new communication skills, because we underestimate their importance in our quest for success. Also, many of us think that we can't learn how to communicate more effectively. But we can become better communicators, and when we do, it plays a big part in realizing our dreams of winning."

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Useful examples that can be applied to many situations, November 24, 2001

By	Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews

There were several passages I particularly enjoyed; among them:
* In any business, workers up and down the hierarchy want nothing
more than to be treated fairly, to feel that they aren't getting
the short end of a manager's stick. My second baseman in 1966,
Mario Duncan, once was quoted as saying about me, "He doesn't
play favorites. All twenty-five guys are his favorites." It was kind of
him to say, and I believe that it's true. Managers who make it
their business to keep personal preferences to themselves, to
show regard for all employees, and to be scrupulously fair about
opportunities, promotions, and perks, will be rewarded with a
bunch of highly motivated team players.

* During my eight years as a player with the Braves, I was fortunate
to hit behind baseball's all-time home run king, Hank Aaron. One
day, Hank and I were talking about batting slumps when he made
a comment that's stayed with me ever since: "Each at bat is a
new day."

* "I hang pictures," is a phrase I've used whenever I start a new
job. . . . When I first managed the Mets in the late 1970s, Boyer,
then the Cardinals' manager, visited me in my clubhouse
office. Kenny noticed all the personal pictures I had hanging on
the walls. "Wow," he exclaimed. "You expect to be here for a
while?"

"When I start working somewhere, I just assume that I'm going
to be there forever," I said. "It's the only way I can do my job."

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