Leadership Thought: A Lesson About Friendship from Casey Stengel I Will Never Forget.

Dear Friends,

How does one become wise? The answer is simple. He walks with wise people.  The Bible reminds us that, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm" (Proverbs 13:20).

We can learn a lot about a person by asking who his friends are. The old saying, “A rotten apple spoils the barrel” is often applied to friendships, and with good reason. Our friends and associates profoundly impact who we are and what we will become.

How important it is that we choose good friends, and that we encourage our children to do the same. They will resemble the friends they make.

Charles “Tremendous” Jones was fond of saying, “What you will become in five years will be determined by what you read and with whom you associate.” Your friendships will determine your future. 

I love the old story told by the late Casey Stengel, who managed the New York Yankees to numerous World Championships. One day, Billy Martin, a former player and manager himself, asked Casey the secret of managing success.

Stengel's response to this rookie manager was classic. He said, “On any team you will have 15 players who love you and who will run through a wall for you. You will also have five players who will hate your guts and fight you every step of the way, and finally you will have five who are undecided about how they feel about you. The secret of success is to keep the five guys who hate your guts away from the five who are undecided. When you make out your rooming list, always room your losers together. Never room a good guy with a loser. Those losers who stay together will always blame the manager for everything, but it won't spread if you keep them isolated.”

What was Stengel saying? Simply this, “Bad company corrupts good character,” or as one pastor friend of mine puts it, “Holy friends hinder bad behavior.”

The Bible teaches, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17) Putting ourselves in touch with wise, stimulating, faith building, positive thinking, moral living, people will help us move ahead in our own Christian life.

Thomas Fuller was right when he said, “it is best to be with those in time we hope to be with in eternity.”

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom