3 Ways Your Business Is Like Baseball

The boys of summer are back, and baseball is in full swing. About this time of year, I dig deep in the sunflower seed bag and go to the Yogi quotes. One of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes is:

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

Business planning and baseball have a lot in common, here’s my list of three ways running a business is a lot like managing a baseball team.

1. Picking your team – nailing down the roster is possibly the most critical factor in baseball and business hiring. Baseball contracts were taken care of over the winter, so teams already know what stars will be playing where. However, the utility players, the rookies, and the guys on the verge of losing their spot in the show have to dig deep and give the skipper something to remember. For the coaches and managers, they’ve got to look closely at the talent so they can figure out who’s going to help the team win today and who are going back to the minors. Sound familiar? One of the hardest parts of running a business is hiring and managing your staff. Who goes where? Managers don’t have to figure out who’s on the team; they have to come up with batting orders and pitching rotations, bench players, and scheduling matchups. It requires a tremendous amount of planning to assess your organization and determine the best way to use it. In baseball, you bat your power hitter in the “cleanup position,” because that’s where he can drive in the most runs. In business, projects go to the best person for the job. Have a big sales pitch? Who’s your cleanup hitter?
2. Getting in shape – In baseball, spring training provides a time for players to work out together, getting their bodies and minds ready for the season ahead. A good organization makes sure its employees are “in shape” by giving them the tools they need to do their jobs. Whether this means updating computers or software, offering education and training so your crew can stay abreast of changes in the field, or providing benefits that help you maintain a healthy workplace, staying on top of these issues and making sure everyone’s ‘in shape’ will pay dividends in the long run.
3. Changing up the plan – In both baseball and business, plans have to be flexible. If something isn’t working, you don’t stick with it just because it’s written in your business plan or on your lineup card. Players get hurt or have slumps or sometimes don’t perform how you expected. Sales stagnate, or market conditions change. Adjusting your plan to the current reality is the only way to stay competitive, stay on top, whether you’re trying to win baseball games, or run a business.

Remember skipper, don’t be afraid to pivot and go in another direction. Reading the game conditions requires flexibility, planning, and creativity to win the big games.

And don't be stingy with the go sign, let'em swing for the fences!