George Steinbrenner

The Life of “The Boss”

The word leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task (Wikipedia)." Managers have to be great leaders in order to move their companies in the direction of success. Power, charisma, intelligence, and a strong will to succeed are some common characteristics of leaders around the world. In the 1930’s, one such man came into this world and showed people what it took to be a successful leader.

On July 4, 1930, in Rocky River Ohio, a leader of the likes no one has ever seen was born, name, George Steinbrenner III. Believed to be one of the greatest entrepreneurs of his time, the strong willed leader, who brought the Yankees to their prestige, was son to Rita and Henry Steinbrenner and had two sisters, Judy and Susan. Henry, the owner of Kinsman Marine Transit Company, was a strict father who never accepted failure from his children. He pushed them to be the best they could be in everything they did. He made it a habit to urge George to “always work as hard as, or harder, then anyone who works for you (Madden 13).” Winning was seen as the most important thing in the Steinbrenner’s lives. It seems as if George was always trying to please his father in all aspects of his life and anything else to George was a failure. His mom Rita was a good counterpart to her strict husband Henry. She was an emotional crutch for her children, the glue that held the family together, as they were pushed to be the best.

As a young boy, George would receive chickens instead of an allowance (Biography). This was the start of George’s entrepreneurial way of thinking. He started a small business where he would sell eggs for money in his town of Bay Village, Ohio. He was pretty successful at this and sold the company to his sisters, for fifty dollars, before he left for high school (Biography). Sports were always an important part of George’s life...