DOWAGIAC — When Nick Brown joined the front office of the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2012, team owner Andrew Berlin handed him a rather unusual welcoming gift: a copy of “The New Gold Standard,” a leadership manual profiling the famed Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Seeing as his specialty was in managing the baseball diamond, not hospitality, Brown was confused by his new boss’ gesture.

“I’ve never even stayed at Ritz Carlton,” Brown recalled saying at the time. “What do you even want me to do with this?”

After reading through the book, though, everything suddenly clicked, Brown said.

The same things that The Ritz-Carlton leadership does to make their guests’ stay unforgettable — empowering their employees, assembling a great team and giving visitors the chance to make memories they will cherish for a lifetime — could easily apply to any business, especially to America’s favorite pastime.

Thanks to their new focus on customer service, the leadership of the Class A minor league baseball team — now known as the South Bend Cubs — have turned the franchise into a powerhouse that attracts people throughout Michiana to its home at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium.

Brown, the vice president and general manager with the team, shared the secrets of the Cubs’ rapid rise to prominence during the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce annual awards dinner, which took place Wednesday at the Dowagiac Elks Lodge. More than 100 business owners, employees and officials attended the ceremony.

Since coming to the South Bend team following a restructuring of the front office five years ago, Brown has helped lead a resurgence in customer ratings as well as a surge in attendance figures. Today, the stadium averages around 360,000 visitors a season, up from 110,000 in 2012.

Brown said that one of the reasons for the turnaround was giving the stadium’s 200 game day employees — who range from teenagers taking on their first summer job to retirees looking for part-time work — more responsibility to correct problems or mistakes.

“We are dealing with a vast number of age groups, with different standards and upbringings,” Brown said. “What is important to one of them might not be important to another. The 17-year-old might be worrying about a date on Friday night. My 65-year-old retiree might be worrying about whether or not he can make it home that night. There are some challenges working with that big a group.”

However, through extensive training and role-playing exercises, Brown said that every stadium employee should be able to give visitors the information and experience they require to make their trip great, without having to call in management.

The front office has also spent the last several years improving other elements of the customer experience. Leaders had to place themselves in their customers’ shoes, walking through the entire property to identify areas that may impair guests’ enjoyment, from the music playing as fans approach the stadium to how easy it was to get through ticketing, Brown said.

The idea behind all this work is simple: to create a perfect environment for fans to come out and have a great time that they will remember for years to come. It is something that Brown himself can attest to. He still carries with him a signed baseball he received as a child during a game he and his father went to.

“It is about those memories, it is about those experiences,” Brown said. “If you can create those ‘wow’ moments, it doesn’t matter what industry you are in. You can thrill somebody. If you don’t think you can, you probably aren’t doing well with your business. You can thrill someone with almost any interaction.”

Due in large part to these improvements, the South Bend team signed a four-year deal with the Chicago Cubs in 2014 to become the team’s Class-A farm league. In 2015, the South Bend Cubs was named the top team by the Minor League Baseball association.

On top of the $2 million worth of improvements they invested to capture the deal three years ago, the stadium is currently building a $22-million apartment complex that will overlook the field.

While the team may be located in South Bend, Cubs games have become an event that people across the region flock to, Brown said.

“When family or friends come into town, people cannot wait to take them to the ballpark,” Brown said. “This is something the whole community can be proud of.”