Case - Building Championship Teams in Boston

Boston is known for beans and the Red Sox. In the last decade, Boston has also been known as a city of well-organized championship teams. What is the organizing secret that led to all four professional teams' winning a championship?

The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007. The last time they had won a World Series was in 1918. Under the artful guidance of Terry Francona, known as a "player's manager," the team flourished with a "cowboy up" team philosophy. Not to be outdone, the New England Patriots won three NFL Super Bowls in the decade of the 2000s. The Patriots won under the stern leadership of Bill Belichick. He is a no-nonsense type of coach who will release players who do not exhibit team spirit.

He is also not afraid to release or trade valuable veterans before their contract expires even if it appears they have some good playing years left. It should be noted that Belichick drafted Tom Brady, his Hall-of-Famer-to-be quarterback, with the 199th pick of the football draft-a wise choice and decision by Belichick. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics rekindled the magic of early decades by winning the NBA Championship in 2008. Led by General Manager Danny Ainge and Coach Doc Rivers, the team turned a decade of losing into a season of glory by reorganizing around three aging veterans.

Kevin Garnett was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Ray Allen was acquired from Seattle, and they blended extremely well with longtime Celtic Paul Pierce. Coach Rivers took over and created a team atmosphere where a young guard (Rajon Rondo) was able to develop to help assist the experienced veterans. The new "Big Three" reminded fans of the original "Big Three" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish and their championship seasons. Lastly, the city of Boston was able to enjoy the reorganization of the NHL Boston Bruins. The Big Bad Bruins were led by Coach Claude Julien, who had been expected to be fired for another lackluster playoff loss.

However, the Bruins got the hot hand and worked hard in the corners to win the NHL Stanley Cup in 2011. Julien's style of play (with players working together as a scrappy, hard-nosed team) took a little time for people to learn. But with the hot goaltending of Tim Thomas and some balanced scoring, the result was a championship in a hard-fought series against the Vancouver Canucks.

All four sport teams won with the simple philosophy that William Davidson successfully used to create championship teams in Detroit-letting managers do the job they were hired to do. Davidson used the following three steps in working with people.

1. Find good people.

2. Give them latitude to probe for greatness over mediocrity.

3. Stay out of their way unless change seems necessary.31
For more information, visit redsox.com, bruins.nhl.com, celtics.com, and patriots.com. For more information about William Davidson, see http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/ davidson_partone.html.

Case Questions
Select the best alternative for the following questions. Be able to explain your answers.
1. The partnership of Coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady shows a great unity of direction.
a. true
b. false

2. What level of authority does General Manager Danny Ainge have with the Boston
Celtics?
a. informing
b. recommending
c. reporting
d. full

3. What type of authority does the coach of the Boston Celtics have?
a. line
b. staff

4. If the Red Sox organization kept nearly all decision making at the top of the organizational structure, this authority would be
a. centralized
b. decentralized

5. Transferring managers from one team to another would be an example of
a. simplification
b. rotation
c. enlargement
d. enrichment

6. You would expect former Red Sox Manager Terry Francona, as a "player's manager," to be reluctant to delegate.
a. true
b. false

7. The Boston professional sport teams won seven championships in the decade of the 2000s. This is proof that a well-organized sport organization will always win the championship.
a. true
b. false

8. Bill Belichick lacks the skills to properly coordinate his team.
a. true
b. false

9. The Boston Bruins are well suited to be organized using a matrix approach.
a. true
b. false

10. The Boston Celtics and the Boston Red Sox should be organized by products.
a. true
b. false

11. Use the Internet to find out whether the Boston teams have won any new championships.

12. If professional teams are owned by wealthy businesspeople, would you expect most of the organizations to be centralized or decentralized?