Dugout Days : Untold Tales and Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Career of Billy Martin

"The bottom line is, if you could be good, Billy showed you how to be good." -- Matt Keough, former pro pitcher

Legendary baseball manager Billy Martin was well-known for his abrasive spirit and after-hours barroom brawls. But it was on the field that Martin's genius for leadership took shape. His record for taking over undistinguished teams and instilling in them the aggressiveness and confidence needed to win championships will never be equaled. When he left the game, Martin left behind a proven model for success--one that can be applied to today's winner-take-all corporate battleground.

Dugout Days is the first thorough examination of the leadership strategies of Billy Martin. Setting aside the controversies that Martin's take-no-prisoners attitude often ignited, this book concentrates on the man--how he won and why the lessons from his championship legacy transcend the game of baseball.

High-energy stories and original interviews with the men who played for and with Martin--and learned from him--provide insights that resonate in today's competitive business arena, including:

* The importance of mentors in grooming passionate and effective leaders
* The necessity of building bonds, earning respect, and showing loyalty
* Techniques for melding a group of disparate individuals into a cohesive unit and for pushing them to new heights of achievement
* How adopting a high-energy, fast-acting, values-driven approach can vanquish the competition
* The importance of loving what you do in the equation for lasting success.

Michael DeMarco (Vienna, VA) is a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. DeMarco played baseball at Williams College.