Baseball aficionados will be talking about Stan Musial for
some time. The famed, life-time St. Louis Cardinal died at the age of 92 a few
weeks ago. He spent his entire career in the same uniform. While he played
during an era of some more notorious characters, like DiMaggio and others,
Musial did something none of the others ever came close to. His career-high
strikeouts during a season was 46. Think of that. Over 22 years he walked to
the plate somewhere in the neighborhood of 11,000 times, hit the ball 3 out of
ten times at bat, struck out one in ten times, and walked or got hit by pitches
the others. There is good reason he was the National League Batting Champ seven
times.
He was a humble man.
The fans loved him and he loved them back.
SOME HAVE IT, SOME DON"T
During the 1990s my wife would travel to Florida with me
during baseball's spring training. My clients were young, professional baseball
players already making millions or about to. While the vast majority of those I
served were outstanding young men, there were those that were simply ingrates,
spoiled by doting parents or lacking in social grace for one reason or another.
Some of those I had the privilege of working with are still associated with the
great game either in the front offices or the dugouts as coaches in the majors
leagues. Many simply went back to a life that includes hard work and caring for
their families. Others are broke, have been in jail or have sullied the game
with their doping antics.
I didn't know Stan Musial personally. I did watch him on a black
and white TV screen as a kid and was among many who pretended to be 'Stan the
Man' in our empty-lot pickup games. One of those spring evenings we dined in a St. Petersburg Beach restaurant. I was 'blown away' when I realized we were
sitting just a few tables away from this living legend and his wife who were
enjoying a quiet evening of their own. No one was bothering 'The Man.'
A ONE TIME, UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE
When we finished eating and were making our way to the door,
my wife interrupted my astonished rambling, "That was Stan Musial, can you
believe it Hon, that was Stan Musial;" with, "You're not likely to
ever have this opportunity again, just go say hello and tell him how you
feel."
Overcoming my own apprehension, and really, a respect for
his privacy, I went back. He smiled and extended his hand. I apologized and he
reassured me not to worry. He asked my name and pulled out one of his famous,
printed cards and wrote the brief note you see above. We spent less than a
minute and I'll never forget it. There are boxes of signed caps and balls in my
basement but none as precious as this.
Shortly after Musial's death, Mike Leuchtfeld of Red Bud, IL
who is a notable collector of baseball memorabilia, said that,"Because Musial was so approachable and willing
to sign just about anything placed in front of him, the higher volume of
autographed items will hold down prices in the collectibles market."
THE IRONY OF MISPLACED VALUE
Reading between the lines, if a celebrity of any profession were unapproachable, unfriendly or just too full of themselves to readily
scribble their signature on a piece of anything, it will be more prized. Isn't
that an odd reality?
Put some of this in a leadership context. Now, mind you I didn't
do exhaustive research for this post and can't say what kind of a leader Mr.
Musial was as a player in the club-house, on the field or in his post-playing
days. From my experience though, I can tell you that the athletes I met who
were the antithesis of 'Stan the Man' were not liked by their teammates, didn't
consider the value of their supporters and showed little gratitude to other
professionals in their hire.
The leadership qualities Stan Musial displayed, however, were
plain as day and statistically unshakable.
A 'MUSIAL' KIND OF LEADER
Leaders of his ilk are dependable, loyal, grateful, generous and firm but kind. They don't need to
strike out in ratios like Babe Ruth did to make a lasting mark on their craft. They
influence others with a quiet competence that becomes emblazoned in the legacy
of timeless leadership. It is a leader who can readily place their signature
where it has lasting meaning that deserves to be included in an elite group of
men and women known as genuine leaders - the kind we like to work for and that
like us equally well for working with them.
Jim Naleid
is a Life-long Entrepreneur,
Change-Agent and Thought Leader, Managing Director of Naleid & Associates
and Regional TEC (“The Executive Committee”) Chair leading a
group of executives to become Better Leaders, Making Better Decisions with
Better Results. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimnaleid
