A COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER

An interview with Rick Cerrone
Director, Media Relations for the New York Yankees

The World Champion New York Yankees have been heralded as a great team. Some sports writers say it is the best baseball team ever   – "the best of the best." Positioning interviewed Richard J. Cerrone, Director of Media Relations and Publicity for the New York Yankees, to learn what made this team so special and to try to gain insights into the dynamics of teamwork that all organizations might find useful.

Positioning: What makes this team so special?

RC: Well, first, when I say 'team,' I include the entire organization – players as well as people from trainers to PR people to the front office. As for the players, they played as a team, acted like a team and lived like a team; and I think the results speak for themselves. Never in my dealings with them – which was on a daily basis – did I ever encounter someone who felt he was bigger than the team. I think that's unique. I have been in and around this game for more than 20 years in various capacities and I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this, where all 25 guys were so selfless ... I think that is part of why the Yankees had the kind of season they had, perhaps never to be duplicated.

Positioning: Well that had occurred to us. Maybe this was a phenomenon.

RC: Hopefully we will maintain the same team first philosophy which made it happen. I will tell you that the year following a championship, especially one of this nature, will present very unique challenges. Many more challenges than, let's say, we had going into last year, because you want to win again but you have all of the things that are inherent with winning. People will expect more winning a championship – players want more playing time and more money. It will be a very different picture, but we will try to have the same philosophy work for us.

Positioning: The success of this is that the philosophy depends on the year – is that what you are saying?

RC: Well, the success depends on the efforts of the people buying into the philosophy. And, mostly everyone who came through these doors in the Bob Watson (former Yankees General Manager)- Brian Cashman (current GM), Joe Torre regime have bought into the philosophy of team first. Next year we hope they do so as well.

Positioning: It seems that everybody wants to try this team first philosophy, but not many succeed. What's the secret to making it succeed?

RC: I think it was the result of a successful combination of management style and the personnel who were able to buy into the philosophy and obviously perform extremely well. You certainly have to have quality players. This is a very professional group of people, and that I think equates to the  business world. At the end of the day you want to look at your organization and see a hard working group of people with direction, commitment, dedication. I think a company could look at this and say, 'Well that's just sports.' But in the world of sports you are competing every single day against 29 other teams. At the end of the year when you can take that trophy and all that goes with it, you have to have had many of the attributes any successful company would have.

Positioning: You said it takes a lot of components to make the team first philosophy work, including the right management style. Could you elaborate on that?

RC: I think any organization needs a goal and direction. It needs to stay that course. I don't think our goal for the team was to win the World Series – it was to get back to the World Series. That was the goal. That was how everything was plotted along the way. I think to have a clear direction, in this day especially, is imperative.

Positioning: So what you are saying is, every individual is responsible for the game.

RC: I think every individual wasn't beaten over the head with it. Every individual should know what their part of the effort is. For example, I have been in front offices where people never think about selling a ticket. It just doesn't occur to them to sell a ticket or create a new fan.

Positioning: It seems like one of the things that helped make the team a success was a very effective use of resources – both players and dollars.

RC: Yes. You know the first thing Joe Torre said about the Yankees and George Steinbrenner is that he gives you what it takes to win. That doesn't necessarily mean you win with it, but you cannot go away saying, "I had a gun with only one bullet in it." The support is definitely there in all aspects. I think what does not get the publicity much is the farm system which was invaluable this year – from Shane Spencer to Ricky Ledee to Orlando Hernandez who came up through our Columbus farm team. And we had a lot of front-line players, who came through our farm system, Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. So, the support system really paid off.

Positioning: It seemed like top management this year was a little more hands-off in involvement compared to prior years.

RC: 1 would say a key difference would be less interference. I think that the chain of command was clearly more adhered to for the past few years where the general manager reports to the owner and the manager basically communicates with the general manager. Joe Torre was quoted as saying that he probably talked to George Steinbrenner, I don't know, a half dozen times during the season and half of those were probably social calls. I have been around this team now for three years every day, and believe me there was never an intense 'the boss is on the phone for you.' That's another important factor (in success) that anybody can apply – communication.

Positioning: Speaking of leadership, it's obvious the coaches, Joe Torre, the front office get the credit, but what about the players themselves? Were there leaders in the clubhouse and the dugout?

RC: Yes, there were leaders, and they led by example, by how they conducted themselves when you walked into that clubhouse; I think the new players saw the environment and adapted, even the players who had the reputation of maybe not being a "team player." I think they came in and saw this work ethic in Joe Girardi, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter, and so on. The new players adapted to the 'Yankee Way,' and so to speak the 'Yankee Ethic.'

Positioning: You seem to have a lot of clients.

RC: We have many constituents: the players, the coaches, the managers, the owner, the general manager, the fans and the media. I am not sure that I make my philosophy clear to all of them – but I make an effort to do so.

Positioning: There was a lot of diversity on this team. How is that managed, and could it be that diversity was a benefit?

RC: My feeling is that diversity is always a factor. I think it's great for people to be among such a diverse group. And did we have a diverse group of people...we had people that didn't speak the language. It is just one more thing you have to manage to be successful. But I think diversity is always a plus.

Positioning: Did the Yankee tradition – 'pinstripes and the house that Ruth built' – play a part in the team's success?

RC: I think it did. Players who might have not felt they had an identity and came here were able to say 'I am a Yankee' I have seen players who felt like they now have something they are more responsible for. It's like, 'I am now responsible for this little piece of the pinstripes or Yankee Stadium.' I think in the corporate world, there are the Yankees of their particular field, and I think they have an inherent advantage if they use it right.

Positioning: What direction did you give your own department.

RC: I gave my whole department a set of guidelines for their particular jobs, just as I would have done if I were at Coca-Cola Company or Ralston Purina or any company. I told them that the main PR challenge was to get the maximum amount of positive exposure for the Yankee organization, the team and it’s players without that exposure ever being a diversion for the team or adding pressure to the players. Yet, while the goal is to stay pro-active, the reality is that you can spend your entire day on the defensive. If our team did every interview requested and every legitimate request for an appearance that comes along, you would not have any time to play the game.

The media universe has expanded for baseball. As Joe Torre says, 'The difference between players today from years ago is that they are not ballplayers anymore – they are celebrities.' Years ago you would never ever have a baseball player doing the cross-over from everthing from MTV to Comedy Central. Now when we have the World Series, there is a crew here from MTV, there’s a crew from David Letterman Show and that is great, but they can also negatively impact the focus and the performance of the players.

Positioning: What were your biggest PR challenges?

RC: Besides the challenge described before of being pro-active on a daily basis, not letting the public interest in this team drain the players and manager, there were little crises almost every day. I think one of the most difficult things about a sports environment is that the PR person cannot walk 10 feet without someone needing something, or wanting something, so things change quickly and dramatically. One second it was a problem with the Japanese media making demands, then there was Knoblauch's play in the play-offs that was clearly a crisis that he rectified. (Chuck Knoblauch, Yankees second baseman, was involved in a key, controversial play during the play-offs.)

Positioning: How did you handle the Knoblauch situation?

RC: The only thing I did was help him help himself. He to1d me the next day when we were in Cleveland that he had watched the play on TV and had a much different view of it. He wanted to express that. I think basically what I did was help give him the floor to express himself just once rather than doing a hundred different interviews. So, he went to the media conference that is customarily for the Manager, and he sat there and said, "I screwed up and I am sorry." That quieted things down and took the pressure off Knoblauch.

Positioning: Was the way that Joe Torte managed the team a big factor?

RC: Yes. And I think in many ways that I am a reflection of Joe – at least I like to think I am, although I wish I could let things roll off my back a little bit more like he does. The greatest compliment I ever got was from a man who was my mentor in college and actually got me into media relations. He sent me a letter after the World Series and said, "I was so impressed with how calm you were after the Series ended while everybody around you was yelling at you." To me that was a great compliment. My environment can be very volatile. I think the goal is to be as even-keeled as Joe is.

NICHOLAS J. ASHOOH
Vice President, Communications and Government Relations, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Syracuse, NY

As the Yankees demonstrated, the most important value for creating teamwork is respect. It was easy to see the mutual respect between Joe Torre and his players. Torre exercised firm leadership without condescension. His players returned his respect, accepted their responsibilities and executed their duties professionally. The result was a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts. Teamwork starts with respect and is followed by trust, responsibility, and ultimately, success.

ROBERT C. FELDMAN
President and CEO, GCI Group, New York, NY

The most valuable lesson from the 1998 Yankees World Series victory is that chemistry, teamwork, selflessness and knowing your role on the team have the potential for far greater impact than an assorted collection of all stars. But let's also be clear. The Yankees had great talent. Their number nine batter hit.300; no one should ever underestimate the value of great talent. But that alone is not enough. In fact, it's often counterproductive unless the culture of the organization promotes collaboration and a greater sense of the whole. When you can put those two winning pieces together – talent and team culture – you've got the potential for true greatness.

JONELLE BIRNEY
President and CEO, Blanc & Otus, San Francisco, CA

While admitting that I really didn't watch much of the series, my general thoughts on teambuilding center around getting everyone on the team to agree on what it hopes to accomplish together, then working to bring out the best in each individual contributor. Teams work their best, I think, when they reach that critical point when they realize they are better off together than alone. Momentum (and the fun) begin there.

ANDREW POLANSKY
President, BSMG Worldwide, New York, NY

Above all the Yankees demonstrated the value of having breadth of talent one could deploy in a strategic and timely manner. They showed how the right mix of people used in the right way can be much more valuable than relying on one or two players to stand out from the rest.

THOMAS BUCKMASTER
Chairman, EVP and General Manager, Hill and Knowlton, Washington, DC

Teamwork is really about teams and work. Teams share goals but not every assignment...we play to each other's strengths. Teams are not about equality...we don't all do the same job. They are about equity...sharing fairly the duties at hand and the opportunities to achieve. And of course teams share winning and losing.

Work is seldom easily divided and is rarely divisible equally among the number of people on the team. The key for teams that works is to set clear goals and outcomes, agree on plans to accomplish them, and then understand individual contributions and where they integrate with the group's performance.

E. RONALD CULP
Vice President, Public Relations and Communications, Sears, Roebuck & Co., Hoffman Estates, IL

The Yankees worked towards a shared goal. Too often in business today, well-intentioned yet conflicted silo management philosophies prevent organizations from working towards common goals. At Sears, the Public Relations and Communications team works together to develop lofty, yet achievable goals. This open and shared process focuses the team on becoming "owners" of their department while taking responsibility for their own futures in this great profession.

 DOUGLAS PETKUS
Senior Director, Communications, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Philadelphia, PA

Basically, there are three attributes important to success (as demonstrated by the Yanks): communication, honesty and timeliness. Members of a successful team communicate in an honest way...when it is important. Mistakes can be avoided and productivity potential increases when this approach is employed.

WILLIAM C. HEYMAN
President & CEO, Heyman Associates, Inc., New York, NY

"Competition" is the common denominator for both sports teams and corporations. In our recruiting experience creating a "deep" management team within communications departments is a key ingredient in helping a company compete successfully in an intense business environment.

It takes a great leader to produce a winner. The best managers allow their people to stretch themselves, are supportive and do not interfere with the growth of the staff. Such managers are few and far between. The bottom-line is that in order to be that kind of manager, he/she needs to have enough personal self-confidence to allow others to grow, contributing to a true team ethic.

The teamwork ethic at Marriott originated in the late 1920s when few of the company's employees had special credentials. Academic degrees, connections, and politicking were less important than commitment and hard work.

Although the number of credentialed officers at Marriott has increased in recent years, the company still maintains a philosophy that encourages everyone to roll up their shirt-sleeves and pitch in.

The best way to develop a strong teamwork ethic is to create an environment where the reward of working together outweighs that of working for individual interests.

Every business needs smart, ambitious people to drive it into the future. Ambitious people have egos that give them the confidence to do their jobs. If they cannot manage their egos, you need a system in place that does it for them.

Create an egalitarian culture that values everyone's input. Don't offer outrageous incentives packages to select people to get them to stay on board. It undermines team spirit. People won't work together equitably if they know the reward structure favors a few people at the top.

Don't allow competitive rivalries to creep into your organization. They can turn into blood matches that drag other workers into the fray, affecting the judgment, morale, and productivity of everyone involved.

Don't reward maverick behavior with promotions, attention, or money if this behavior undermines your company's culture of values.

Do reward creativity and innovative thinking in all your employees.

Value the organization more than the individual players. Otherwise you may find your company held hostage by the drive or creativity of a single individual.

Above all, encourage teamwork. It will keep your system in balance, reduce competition and discourage individual agendas..

Success doesn't happen in a vacuum. You need the combined efforts of many people to win. In business, these people include not only your employees but also your stockholders, customers, and even competitors.

For example, shareholders, banks, and other investors contribute to the financing that makes it possible for your company to grow. No one forces them to invest in you. They do it to become a partner in your success.

Customers who use your services also have a stake in your success. Like stockholders, they choose your company over others. You need them not only to grow but to exist.

Finally, competitors are a key factor in helping you to succeed. Not only do they motivate you to stay on your toes in the marketplace, they are also your peers.

If you isolate yourself from your competition, you may lose support when you need it most. Rivals in the lodging industry sometimes help each other out free of charge, for example, when a hotel's laundry services breaks down.

The bottom line on all partnerships is never take them for granted. You need them, and they need you.

In the 1980s Marriott began to diversify its lodging business, adding moderately and economy-priced hotels to its fleet. Although they were in different markets, the brands competed against each other for customers and rarely shared resources or referrals.

That changed in the 1990s when Marriott division president Bill Tiefel merged all the hotel lines into one brand-management structure. Each line was assigned a brand manager to ensure and promote its integrity and uniqueness.

Under the new structure, the lines began to work together. In fact, during the first year of restructuring, the brands referred more than $170 million in business to each other.