If you are a baseball fan, you might find a new book The Cub Way by Tom Verducci a good read.

While it has plenty of baseball action, it also describes the process Cub president Theo Epstein implemented in building a team that could break a 108-year losing streak to win the World Series.

In a sport that has come to focus on number and analytics to build teams, Epstein built a culture which taught the right way to play the game and the right way to be a teammate. He still regarded numbers to be important, but character and leadership were emphasized as well.

It was a process that took four years. They taught the CUB way. In the minor leagues where the players were being developed, they begin to acknowledge plays and efforts which reinforced the right way to play as being “CUB.”  Teammates would point to others they saw doing the right thing and yell: “That’s CUB! Way to go.”

As the affirmation caught on, they turned CUB into an acrostic that has a deeper meaning.

C meant you had the courage to do the right thing.

U meant that you did the right thing with urgency. No waiting.

B meant that you believed all the things that made the Cub way work. You identify with the team and the culture which is the Cubs.

True believers who approach their days with courage and urgency have a way of changing destinies. Just ask the Cubs.