"There are three secrets to managing. The first secret is have patience. The second is be patient. And the third most important secret is patience"
About this Quote
Tanner’s “three secrets” lands because it’s a locker-room koan disguised as a joke. The repetition isn’t laziness; it’s the point. By pretending to offer a tidy, managerial checklist and then delivering the same answer three times, he needles the fantasy that leadership can be reduced to clever tactics, motivational slogans, or a new lineup card. In sports culture, especially baseball’s marathon grind, the temptation is always to “do something” - yank the rookie, chew out the bullpen, win the press conference. Tanner shrugs at that impulse and basically says: your job is to withstand time.
The intent is practical, not mystical. “Patience” here means resisting panic during slumps, trusting process over noise, and giving people room to develop without turning every bad week into a referendum on character. It also signals restraint with power: a manager has daily opportunities to punish, overcorrect, or perform authority. Tanner implies that the best ones don’t confuse control with competence.
Subtextually, it’s a rebuke to the managerial ego. The gag structure undercuts the idea that the manager is the genius at the center of the story. Patience reframes leadership as stewardship: you’re less a chess master than a caretaker of rhythms - confidence, momentum, fatigue, recovery.
Context matters because baseball is built to test nerves: 162 games, brutal variance, public second-guessing, and players who are simultaneously assets and human beings. Tanner’s line endures because it’s a cultural counterweight to our addiction to immediacy. It’s also a warning: if you can’t sit with uncertainty, you’ll manage by impulse - and your team will feel it.
The intent is practical, not mystical. “Patience” here means resisting panic during slumps, trusting process over noise, and giving people room to develop without turning every bad week into a referendum on character. It also signals restraint with power: a manager has daily opportunities to punish, overcorrect, or perform authority. Tanner implies that the best ones don’t confuse control with competence.
Subtextually, it’s a rebuke to the managerial ego. The gag structure undercuts the idea that the manager is the genius at the center of the story. Patience reframes leadership as stewardship: you’re less a chess master than a caretaker of rhythms - confidence, momentum, fatigue, recovery.
Context matters because baseball is built to test nerves: 162 games, brutal variance, public second-guessing, and players who are simultaneously assets and human beings. Tanner’s line endures because it’s a cultural counterweight to our addiction to immediacy. It’s also a warning: if you can’t sit with uncertainty, you’ll manage by impulse - and your team will feel it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Management |
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