I hate the Cubs. Well, not really. But some Cubs fans, like a percentage of the mob that descends on American Family Field for each Brewers/Cubs series, can be quite annoying. My guess is it will be worse on May 3…when the Cubs and friends roll into Milwaukee for the first time with Craig Counsell on the top step of the visitor’s dugout.
How did this happen? We may never know what happened behind the scenes. We do know what went on publicly after it was announced that Counsell had defected to our cross-border rival to collect his $8 million annual paycheck. We witnessed the anger and visceral disappointment of the Brewers fan base. We heard from a surprised owner (Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio) who shared his initial reaction during a hastily scheduled press conference.
Brewers fans wanted answers. They needed a villain. Attanasio or Counsell. Counsell or Attanasio. Take your pick. There appears to be enough blame to go around. Clearly, however, Brewers management “got some ‘splaining to do.”
A better question, at this point, might be what can we learn from the Craig Counsell debacle? Here are a few suggestions that might apply to better management inside and outside the world of baseball.
No surprises
“Are you messing with me?” is not a good look for the manager in charge of negotiating a retention deal with a key executive. Managers need to stay on top of the day-to-day issues at hand to keep surprises – good or bad – out of the organization. Counsell advised Attanasio in early September that he intended to manage a major league baseball team and it was unlikely to be the Milwaukee Brewers. There are only 30 major league baseball teams.
Priorities
It is very easy for managers to duck current problems or issues which are often unpleasant to consider by shifting thoughts to longer range problems or new opportunities. If Craig Counsell was the best manager in baseball – and many believe, based on his success with an underfunded, small market team that he is the best in baseball – there can be no higher priority than retention.
On Sept. 5 it was reported that Attanasio would be increasing his ownership stake in the Norwich City Football Club to 40% from 15%. Norwich City professional soccer team competes in the English Premier League. Attanasio’s total investment is in the $50 million range. His 40% stake puts him on an ownership par with long time, majority owners Delia Smith and husband Michael Wynn Jones.
In the meantime, Attanasio was heading up the Major League Baseball relocation team of the Oakland Athletics, while also negotiating a government subsidy for maintenance and renovations of American Family Field. It was suggested that baseball commissioner, Rob Manfred, installed Attanasio to chair the relocation team to better prepare the Brewers owner for a potential move of the team from Milwaukee.
Be prepared
All sides would agree the Craig Counsell departure story was a PR nightmare. In sports, where the term fan is derived from fanatic, customers are sometimes beyond passionate about their team. Professional baseball teams have spent decades cultivating this passion. It was known before the season started that Counsell was unwilling to sign a contract extension with the Brewers. While it may have been difficult to predict Counsell would bolt to the hated Chicago Cubs, it was highly likely he would not be managing the Brewers in 2024.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, something goes wrong. All businesses need to have a disaster plan in place and ready to go in the event the unexpected happens. For larger firms, competent crisis management and communication planning firms are readily available. Smaller companies can find crisis communication templates online.
BS detector
If ever there was a story that demonstrated the need for leaders to have a trusted advisor handy who was responsible calling out potentially bad decisions, it is the Craig Counsell story. Someone, in at least a devil’s advocate position, might have seen the numerous potential missteps on both sides before the major damage was done. Human beings, regardless of title, make mistakes. It is important to have a resource available whose job it is to advise the boss before an error is committed.
No, I don’t hate the Cubs. Bad management, on the other hand – particularly unforced errors – is intolerable. Perhaps we can learn from the mistakes made by others relative to the departure of the Brewers manager.
Dennis Ellmaurer is a Vistage chair emeritus. Vistage Worldwide, Inc. is the world’s largest CEO organization. He is also a speaker and executive coach. He can be reached at (414) 271-5780 or dennis@globenational.com.
