The book Moneyball by Michael Lewis examines the actions of a rogue general manager by the name of Billy Beane who is able to take a team with a payroll of $39 million and compete with the New York Yankees, which at the time had a payroll of around $114 million. With his ragtag group of players that he described as “from the Island of Misfit Toys,” he was able to field a team that won 20 consecutive games, more than any other team in the history of professional baseball. How was he able to have such great success? How can we apply those strategies to law firms?
Beane was able to have such phenomenal success in part because Major League Baseball teams are run like an old boys’ club, and he was willing to go against the grain. Among these teams, decisions are often made based on precedent, gut instinct or other intangibles.
