Moneyball

Leadership is "a process of giving purpose (meaningful direction) to collective effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose." Jacobs & Jacques, 1990

Last Sunday I saw Moneyball in theaters for the second time. Throughout the movie Brad Pitt's character, Billy Beane, attempts to overcome the Oakland A's problem of lacking funds to buy good players by bringing in Jonah Hill's character, Peter Brand. Together they attempt to use math algorithms to draft players based on their on base percentage, not their number of homers, or their ability on the field. When Beane and Brand first begin to bring in new, under-appreciated players to the team they are met by opposition and resistance at every level, from the drafting agents to the head coach.

To me this is an excellent example of what Jacobs and Jacques defined as leadership. When the head coach refuses to put the team on the field that Beane and Brand drafted, they don't give up. Eventually they trade the players the head coach consistently put on the field before the players Beane wanted. Through his persistence and constant conveyance of what he wanted and what vision he has for the A's, the team eventually begins to come together. This leads to the players and the head coach coming on board with the plan and together they beat countless records and win 20 straight games. They also turn the season from a losing one, to a winning one. All of those accomplishments would not have been possible, especially on the budget they had, if it had not been for Beane giving them purpose and direction and causing them to willingly achieve purpose through combined effort.

Not only has this shown me the importance of perseverance, but it also made me realize how with enough commitment, the seemingly impossible can be achieved. Even if it seems like no one wants you to succeed or no one is listening to you, if you show enough leadership, anything can be accomplished.

Moneyball. Dir. Bennett Miller. Perf. Pitt, Brad. Columbia Pictures, 2011. Film.