1.4 Assemble the Right Players; i.e., Build or Buy Needed Competencies

Redefining rules and assessing readiness are tough tasks. Vision and discipline are required. But, the outputs—a capability-development matrix and a talent-acquisition map—are critical to devising a winning game plan. Putting the plan into play—i.e., bringing all of the right pieces together and molding them into a champion—is equally daunting. Emotional fortitude is needed. Executives like Theo Epstein, however, embrace the team-building challenge. Team ego results when you holistically progress through the remaining 3Rs—right players, right roles, and right relationships. Let’s explore how Epstein brings these Rs together.

Through experience or intuition, Epstein knows the best players aren’t always the right players. Many so-called super teams never hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy at season’s end. So, what type of player does Epstein look for? Talent is critical, but even more so, Epstein seeks a mix of athleticism and positional skill backed up by EQ and a team-first mindset. After all, when a crisis arises—and it will during the course of a 181-game season—team ego decides whether the team steps up or collapses. The better question is, perhaps, how does Epstein put the right mix of skills on the field? Like you, Epstein has two options. He can build competencies or he can buy them. To field a consistent contender, he must do both exceptionally well. Figure 1.2 depicts Epstein’s method.

• Phase 1—Long Game: The core of an Epstein team emerges from the draft. Young talent like Javier Baez (2011) and Kris Bryant (2013) is identified and developed. The process takes time, but it provides a big bang for the buck. Baez and Bryant both made pivotal contributions to the Cubs’ World Series run. Of note, when Epstein arrived in 2011, he began to trade valuable players that didn’t fit his vision and culture, giving the Cubs more draft picks.

• Phase 2—Close Key Gaps: Epstein opportunistically closes key skill gaps by acquiring a proven talent via free agency or a well-timed trade. Consider Jake Arrieta, a starting pitcher acquired from the Baltimore Orioles just before the 2013 trading deadline. Arrieta won the 2015 NL Cy Young Award and was the ace of the Cubs’ 2016 pitching staff.

• Phase 3—Win Now: By July 25, 2016, the Cubs had the best record in MLB. But, by Epstein’s estimation, the Cubs still lacked a critical piece: a hard-throwing lefty closer. To bring Aroldis Chapman, the hardest thrower in baseball (105-MPH fastball), to Chicago, Epstein traded four up-and-coming prospects—a steep price Epstein was willing to pay to win it all in 2016.

One more point: Epstein knows that the concept of right “players” extends beyond the playing field. To help make things click, Epstein brought on Joe Maddon, former manager of the Tampa Bay Rays. Maddon’s keen sense of strategy and a sabermetrics-driven willingness to tweak the batting order and defensive alignment helped position the Cubs to win a league-leading 103 games. Simply summarized, getting ready to compete means bringing the right players on board, whether drafting undervalued prospects, signing free agents, making pivotal trades, or signing a manager whose true talents are being underutilized.

Apple has shown an uncanny ability to bring the right players together to develop and deliver hit products and services. Figure 3 shows how Apple uses Epstein’s playbook.

• Phase 1—Long Game: At the turn of the millennium, Apple began to invest in what has become the source of its success—software. The iTunes Music Store, paired with iOS, set in place the foundation for today’s Apple ecosystem, which consists of over one billion active devices worldwide and includes services such as App Store, Apple Pay, Apple Music, and iCloud. Apple touches its owners’ lives every day—and in an increasing variety of ways.

• Phase 2—Close Key Gaps: By buying Siri in 2010, Apple forged into both the search and mobile “assistant” markets. More recently, in 2014, Apple acquired Beats Electronics, quickly integrating Beats Music into its own streaming service, Apple Music. Pundits, nevertheless, questioned Beats’ $3 billion price tag. But, Apple appeared to have a compelling goal: To close gaps that powered Google Android’s foray into Apple’s turf.

• Phase 3—Win Now: In August 2016, Apple quietly acquired Turi, an artificial intelligence startup, for $200 million. Less than a year later, on June 5, 2017, Apple introduced HomePod, a device designed to “reinvent music in our homes.” The Beats acquisition now made sense. But, that’s not all. HomePod is a home assistant—Apple’s answer to Amazon’s Echo and the Google Home. Turi’s machine learning makes Siri smarter, giving Apple the win-now capability needed for HomePod to become the central nervous system for the IoT-enabled home, a nascent market with fantastic growth potential.

Apple is seldom first to market, but the design, user-friendly interface, and massive ecosystem that support Apple products and services make Apple a game changer. The result: Apple’s market capitalization hit $800 billion in 2017—two times Amazon’s. Consider two facts: Despite owning only 30% of the mobile operating system market, Apple earned 90% of the industry’s 2015 profits. And Apple earns developer loyalty by delivering 75% more revenue vis-à-vis Google Play, making App Store the go-to place for the latest and greatest apps. Bringing the right players to the game has made Apple a perennial industry champion.