Milton Bradley is not a Board Game

As a kid, I played many a game by Milton Bradley. It seemed like every board game I had was a Milton Bradley game. Battleship, Operation, Barrel of Monkeys, Stratego, to name a few. What a difference a few (say 35) years make. In 2000 baseball star Milton Bradley hit the major leagues. He has always been a tremendous talent, but turmoil follows him wherever he goes. Since breaking into the majors, he has played for seven teams, including the Chicago Cubs this year. He had a great year for the Texas Rangers last year allowing him to sign a three year, $30 million contract prior to the season. We must assume that the Cubs thought that Bradley had turned the corner given his MVP type year in Texas. Unfortunately for all concerned, this was not the case. Let's look at Bradley's year. In April, the league suspended him for a game for bumping an umpire. In June, he threw a ball to fans after recording the second out. Clearly a problem when it takes three outs to complete an inning. In June, Cubs manager Lou Pinella sent him home after a dugout tirade. Fast forward to last week when Bradley felt compelled to complain to a local Chicago paper, the Daily Herald, that "It's not just a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment. There's too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly. Everything is just bashing you. You got out there and you play harder than anybody on the field and never get credit for it. It's just negativity. And you understand why they haven't won in 100 years here, because it's negative. It's what it is." General Manager, Jim Hendry, had enough and sent him home for the season with pay.


The question is why would any organization take on a Milton Bradley, Terrell Owens, or Allen Iverson. They are all extremely talented but selfish players creating a cancer in every clubhouse they reside. In each case, with any team, it's addition by subtraction when they leave. For us in our organizations, it's important to realize that talent alone won't ensure results. At the end of the day, organizations do much better with team players who are looking to get results for the benefit of the entire organization-not just themselves. In my experience, it almost never works out for the individual performer in the long run. Their resume gets longer and longer as they wear out their welcome. Even though job movement is not the red flag as it once was-do be aware when a candidate moves every 18 months to 2 years. It probably means they can't integrate into the system. It also means you won't be able to change them either. Let buyer beware when finding talent for your organization. The prima donna may not be the best fit.