El Guapo's Ghost Rambles on about the Red Sox

As a college student during a summer, I studied at an institute in DC (yes, I am kind of a nerd). A third of the time, we discussed the nebulous concept of leadership. We tried to understand not only the characteristics of a leader, but also what is a leaders role within an organization. Since my humid DC summer, I have worked in numerous organizations (for and non-profits, tiny and large, domestic and international), a few consistent leadership tasks always surface. The person at the top of the pyramid sets the vision for the group. S/he is involved in the design of system(s) to reach the vision, mostly at the five hundred foot level. The top dog hires the right people to create and monitor the systems. As side from external issues, s/he only rolls up their sleeves when a terrible internal outcome presents itself. And this is where we are at with the Red Sox.

John W. Henry needs to go into the trenches to answer numerous questions. First off, is the vision of the Red Sox right? Does part of the Olde Towne Team’s mission contain making an acquisition to primarily excite customers, as Theo Epstein alluded to in an interview? Second is the Player, Manager, Medical Staff and Coaches evaluation system and decision making process within Baseball Operations functioning well and aligned with the vision? If the systems are performing well, which should be evaluated over a number of years, then the question is do the Red Sox have the right people?

Even though Henry’s modus operandi is to be a hands-off leader and delegate (by all accounts), it is time focus on your first child. They just arrested for possession and need you to be the rehab counselor. This analysis cannot be given to Larry Luchhino. It is a task only fit for the Principal Owner.