Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs: Theo Epstein the Greatest Leader in the World

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:55 p.m. ET

Fansided, Travis Koch/FanSided via Call to the Pen

Fortune Magazine has deemed Chicago Cubs' President Theo Epstein the greatest leader in the world. A surprise to many, though, how can you argue it?

Fortune Magazine published their annual list of the world's greatest leaders from 1 to 50 on Thursday morning. The list is compiled of CEOs, politicians, musicians, etc. Yet, it's a surprise sports figure that triumphs them all. No, not LeBron James, though he does rank 11th on the list. James is certainly a leader and a global phenomenon, however, he leads only a team, not an entire organization. It is the head of an entire sports organization that takes the cake here. That's right, the honor goes to the tame and masterful mind of Theo Epstein.

As if the Chicago Cubs haven't earned enough praise in the last handful of months, their team President has now been named Fortune's greatest leader in the world. Epstein may not be a world-renowned figure, but you certainly can't argue his incredible success at the age of 43. Still, he probably isn't the first person that comes to mind when thinking of world leaders. Epstein himself seemed quite shocked by the title. He responded to the award in perhaps the greatest and most humble way you could think of. When commenting on the accomplishment via text message with ESPN's Buster Olney, Epstein stated, "Um, I can't even get my dog to stop peeing in the house."

Theo Epstein may have dog training troubles at home, however, he certainly performs his day job at a supreme level. Whether it's the players, coaches, scouting department…the man is in control. And not just in Chicago. Epstein was breaking barriers dating back to his time with the Boston Red Sox. The Cubs are just Epstein's second magic act; he first helped end the Red Sox' 86-year World Series drought.

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Epstein was appointed as General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2002. Only two years later, Boston broke the curse and won the World Series. He later helped lead Boston to yet another championship in 2007. Epstein was a major advocate of the well-known Moneyball strategy. Red Sox owner John Henry stressed the Moneyball approach and he hired Theo Epstein fulfill it.

Epstein went above and beyond, delivering not one, but two championships to a starving franchise. He certainly had some all-stars at his disposal in Boston, but let's not forget the efforts contributed by Red Sox like Bill Mueller, or Trot Nixon, or Dave Roberts. Between the all-stars and the role players, the 2004 Red Sox team was built for a championship.

Believe it or not, Epstein took on even more of a Goliath task when joining the Cubs as President of Baseball Operations in 2011. He traded an 86-year drought for a 104-year drought (at the time). He inherited a mess in Chicago. After all, the Cubs had just completed a 71-91 season prior to Epstein's arrival. Right of the bat, Epstein initiated a 5-year plan. The plan boldly concluded with a Chicago Cubs World Series. He placed an extreme focus on player development, as should be the case with a rebuilding organization. He looked to the draft, not only targeting talent, but also character.

In The Cubs Way, a book written by the great Tom Verducci, Theo Epstein details his simple, yet complex approach:

"If we can't find the next technological breakthrough, well, maybe we can be better than anyone else with how we treat our players and how we connect with players and the relationships we develop and how we put them in positions to succeed. Maybe our environment will be the best in the game, maybe our vibe will be the best in the game, maybe our players will be the loosest, and maybe they'll have the most fun, and maybe they'll care the most. It's impossible to quantify."

In his prophetic ways, Epstein has somehow followed through on every promise he made to such a desperate franchise. He promised to lead and prepare his players in accordance with the above quote. I can't speak for everyone, but the Cubs absolutely looked to be oddly loose and optimistic during their run to the World Series last season.

Epstein promised to draft and develop young talent. He did so by drafting the 2016 MVP in the first round of the 2013 draft. Likewise, the homegrown talents of Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber have recently emerged. Epstein pulled some strings to get Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo, and Jake Arrieta. He topped it off by signing veterans John Lackey, Jon Lester, Dexter Fowler, and Ben Zobrist. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the genius hiring of manager Joe Maddon.

And he promised a championship.

Few plans or ideas are executed to perfection in our challenging world, however, it's safe to say Theo Epstein executed the Cubs' rebuild to perfection. He literally brought the city of Chicago a World Series title on the fifth year of his five-year plan.

Theo Epstein's #1 ranking in a list of the world's top 50 greatest leaders may come as a shock. That being said, I'd love to hear an argument against him. The Chicago Cubs went from being the punchline of sports to being an envied dynasty–a genuine thanks to Epstein. That parallels to a CEO building a company from the ground up. Better yet, no CEO can boast the conquering of the Curse of the Great Bambino and the Curse of the Billy Goat.

Epstein matches the talent and innovative thought of any prized leader. He oversees people, he oversees enormous contracts, and he overseas an entire organization from the depths of the minor leagues all the way to the majors. Theo Epstein lives a life of astounding success, personal success that translates to organizational success. Thus, why not consider him the greatest leader in the world?