The New York Yankees announced the end of their ban on beards, permitting players and staff to maintain “well-groomed beards,” effective immediately. One might think that the prior policy dated back to the Babe Ruth era, though it was instituted by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in the 1970s and notably exempted moustaches such as Thurmon Munson’s. In recent years, the Yankees missed out on several high-profile players (e.g., three-time All-Star Brian Wilson and AL Cy Young Award winner David Price) allegedly attributable to this policy.
Business Takeaway: A reminder to revisit existing workplace policies, regardless of how long they have been in place. In the case of the Yankees, Hal Steinbrenner (George’s son and Managing Director of the Yankees) pointed to the fact that keeping the grooming policy in place today went against his father’s “most important thing” principle – in this case, winning. Are there any aspects of your business culture or specific policies that may have hindered your ability to attract or retain talent? And, more importantly, would you know?