On one occasion, I sat with Alvin Dark and his wife, and I asked him to share with me the most important lesson he learned as a baseball manager. I had my pen poised, and I took down his reply word for word. He said, "Here is a prayer I've tried to live by as a manager:
'Lord, when I'm wrong, make me willing to change. When I'm right, make me easy to live with. Strengthen me so that the power of my example far exceeds the authority of my rank.'
Pat, I have always tried to remember that you manage by influence -- not by authority"
