Quinlan School of Business Faculty Discuss Leadership, Cubs
Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business faculty and staff were recently quoted in several publications on critical issues in business, ranging from leadership to the Chicago Cubs’ historic World Series victory. Here are some excerpts from those pieces.
Professor Arup Varma discusses key tenets that define a leader based on his experiences with Business Manager magazine. His first bit of advice? Return all your calls!
“Yes, please! This means we need to respond to the people who contact us—everyone who contacts us, for any reason whatsoever—not just those who are senior to us, or higher up in the hierarchy … If we are receiving more calls than we can manage, there is something wrong. We need to come up with a system to get back to everyone within a reasonable period of time – period.”
Sara Gramata, a lecturer in marketing and sport management, discusses six management principles that helped lead the Chicago Cubs to their recent playoff success with Crain’s Chicago Business. One of those principles is to always believe in and support your team, but still hold everyone accountable.
“Even with the occasional loss, Maddon has noted it’s not best “to take a trip to ‘Negative Town’,” the natural path of human nature. Instead of pulling low performers, he pumps the lineup with struggling hitters, indicating he never believed they couldn’t pull out of it. And it paid off when these hitters all made a difference in the game later with home runs or RBIs. When the Cubs skipper says he believes and supports his players, he shows it, too.”
They continue,
“Another key lesson Maddon instills is holding everyone accountable, including himself. He does this through the ‘Try Not to Suck’ motto. Humor is known to resonate more with teams than mandates filled with obvious pressure like ‘Win Every Game.’ The former is simple yet profound enough that everyone can relate to it—even my own kids use it for homework or sports.”
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Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
