Monthly Archives: March 2013

March 26, 2013 · 11:11 am

What’s Wrong With Small Ball?

We’re getting close to the start of baseball season. It’s always felt like a time of renewal – Spring has arrived (despite snow on opening day from time to time) and that’s a very good thing in my book. I grew up playing the game and it’s always intrigued me how baseball metaphors run throughout life here in the US of A.

Matt Wieters blocks home plate from Derek Jeter.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the baseball terms on my mind these days is “small ball.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, it refers to a strategy of getting men on base and advancing them through a series of hits or walks rather than placing an emphasis on home runs or big plays.  To me it’s a great business strategy these days and here is why. Business is filled with what I call “Rob Deers”.

In his prime, Rob Deer weighed about 210 and there were many seasons where he barely hit his weight.  Nevertheless, he was a valuable member of 5 different major league teams because he hit home runs.  A lot.  In fact, he would often appear as a league leader in both home runs and strike outs.  Go big or go home personified, I guess.  A lot of businesses think like Rob Deer.  They’re after the home run and while they might strike out a lot when they connect it’s a big win.  The problem with that is that there are also a lot of lean times in between.

I prefer to do business more like Derek Jeter.  Lead the league in hits and in runs scored.  That’s small ball personified.  Sure, hitting one over the wall is fun and almost everyone does that from time to time.  But unlike baseball, in business one isn’t assured of another game tomorrow if we don’t produce today.  Playing small ball in business isn’t heroic but it can be profitable.  The notion that it’s just as difficult to land a small order as it is to land a big one might be true but I’ve found that there are far fewer opportunities and far more competition as the size of the deal grows.

Don’t think for a minute this is about lowering standards.  It’s hard to play small ball well since it requires team work and a squad of folks who can hit the ball.  Managing that activity well requires someone special.  You?

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March 25, 2013 · 9:49 am

Believing The Seeding

I hope you spent at least some of the weekend watching the NCAA Men’s or Women’s Basketball Tournament.  The country seems to have a national obsession with brackets and as it turns out there was a lot of pretty compelling basketball behind the pools.  By the way – I find it kind of amazing that as the sports leagues and organizations – MLB, NFL, and NCAA among others – got comfortable with the fan-generated activities such as fantasy and bracket pools the viewership and engagement of the public grew.  The organizing entities spent a lot of time telling broadcasters and others to ignore those activities (heaven forbid we actually encourage engagement!) because they were gambling or worse.  Good lesson on listening and not getting in the way of people who want to love your brand!

English: National Collegiate Athletic Associat...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In any event, one thing I took away from this weekend was the power of positioning and how it can affect performance.  What I mean by that is the “upsets” we saw as low seeded teams – presumably weaker squads – beat high seeds – top teams from big conferences.  Then again, Gonzaga was a number 1 seed but came from a weaker conference and barely won their first game before getting “upset” by a #9 seed.  A few of the other #1 seeds barely got by.  Which is the business lesson.

So often we believe the seedings.  We’re told our company isn’t good enough or we don’t have enough experience.  The people who hire people or firms on that basis are believing the seedings that they divine from resumes or capabilities presentations.  Too bad.  Given the way business works these days there have been a lot more upsets than there have been results in line with the seedings.  There is a lot more parity.

More importantly, not one of the teams that upset a top seed felt as if they had lost before the game started.  Just the opposite.  Every one of them knew there were in the tournament because they had won a lot more than they had lost.  They believed in themselves and played as a team and not as the function of some mystical RPI equation.  In their minds the seeding was going to be done by the final score.

Don’t believe the seeding.  Sure, you or your firm might be the underdog, but you’re in the  game for a reason.  You with me?

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March 22, 2013 · 10:17 am

An Unleavened Week Of Business

This week’s Foodie Friday Fun is our annual reflection on Passover.  The holiday starts Monday night although in many homes the cooking will begin over the weekend.  What – you eat your brisket on the day it’s made?  Despite debates over what exactly species of fish is a “gefilte” (it means “filled, by the way), there are no debates that this seems to be the favorite holiday of many Jews as well as of the non-Jews who join in the celebratory dinner.

English: Passover plate with symbolic foods: m...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The thing about Passover that raises a business thought today is that it’s a week of eating that’s out of the ordinary.  While the first question in the dinner service is “why is this night different,” it’s the week without leavened foods of any sort that’s the biggest change for many.  Some Jews won’t eat anything that swells up – beans, rice, etc. – as well as abstaining from bread and cakes made with leavening agents.  It’s a subtile reminder throughout the week that the escape from Egypt, the deliverance of the people, and the lessons learned from those events shouldn’t be forgotten.  Which is the business point as well.

What if every business designated a week during which something they did on a daily basis was changed?  Maybe they turned of internal email and made face to face conversations happen.  Maybe they let everyone work on projects that were important to the people involved rather than things important to the business.  Or just maybe they refused to let anyone use the word “can’t” or the phrases “bad idea” or “not do-able”.  I’m sure you can think of a few things that your organization could do differently for a time to cause everyone involved to focus on something other than the day-to-day routine.

The Jews spent 40 years wandering around in the desert after they left Egypt.  Many businesses spend a lot of time figuratively wandering around as well.  Maybe a week of change can provide a better focus and get you to your goals more effectively.  Worth a shot?

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