What is primary: develop strengths or overcome weaknesses?

It is common to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses we have as a company. Doing so allows us to make better business plans. Effective leaders also understand the importance of knowing their personal strengths and weaknesses.

The question is, once identified, should you work to improve your strengths or work to eliminate your weaknesses.

To answer this controversy, I offer the story of Babe Ruth.

Everybody knows the Babe was a great hitter, but did you know he was a two-time 20-game winning pitcher? 

He began his major league career as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in 1914. His skills improved his first two years and in 1916 Ruth led the league with a 1.75 ERA with 9 shutouts to his credit. He won 23 games that year and would improve to 24 wins the following year. 

He holds the record for the longest complete game victory in World Series history. Ruth pitched 14 innings to defeat the Brooklyn Robins in 1916. He only allowed one run in the first inning, and then shut out the Robins for the next 13 innings. The Red Sox won the game 2-1 on their way to their last World Series win of the 20th century.

After the 1917 season the Babe’s pitching stats started to decline. The Red Sox began to transition him to more time in the outfield so he could have more time hitting.

Red Sox ownership changed and in 1920 the Babe would don the pinstripes of the New York Yankees.

The Yankees had a choice to make. The Babe had shown the ability to pitch, and in fact was in the record books for his pitching prowess.

However, his real strength was in his hitting. 

A choice to make

The Babe and the Yankees had the choice to make. Should they concentrate on his declining pitching stats or on his increasing hitting statistics? The later was clearly his strength.

They decided to move the Babe into the outfield full time so he could hit in every game.

Not everyone agreed with the decision. In 1921 baseball great Tris Speaker said, “Ruth made a grave mistake when he gave up pitching. Working once a week, he might have lasted a long time and become a great star."

But Ruth went with his strength. Although he loved pitching, he knew he had great talent at home plate. 

It is not that he liked getting hits. He once quipped that if he were to try to hit singles, he could easily have had a 600-batting average. 

It was that he liked hitting home runs. He was good at home runs. Hitting home runs was his strength.

Babe Ruth is the only player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game on two separate occasions -- game 4 of both the 1926 and 1928 series. In 1927, his record-setting 60 home runs amounted to 14% of all American League home runs.

His home runs were special, endearing him to the fans. Lefty Gomez once said the Babe’s home runs "were something special. They were like homing pigeons. The ball would leave the bat, pause briefly, suddenly gain its bearings then take off for the stands."

How did he do it? “I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball . . . I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big.”

He saw how life affected his home run hitting. He once quipped, “Reading isn't good for a ballplayer. Not good for his eyes. If my eyes went bad even a little bit, I couldn't hit home runs. So, I gave up reading.”

Alternative endings

What would have happened had the decision been made to split his time between the mound and the outfield?

What if the decision had been to put him on the mound full time and work on recapturing his pitching skills? Perhaps if they really worked hard, he might even have gotten to the point he could have won 25 or 30 games in a year. Ant team would love a pitcher with the ability to win 20 games.

Clearly, the baseball world is fortunate the decision was to concentrate on the Babe’s strength!

This is an excerpt from “Life’s Leadership Lessons” a collection of 53 anecdotal leadership lessons, each with an anecdote and the application of the topic in your everyday life. It is designed for use in weekly staff meetings or for personal development.

About the author:

Rick Weaver has half a century’s experience in leadership development in retailing. He founded Max Impact Corporation, a leadership and business development consultancy company in 2002. His major accomplishments include working himself from stock clerk to director at a Fortune 50 retail chain and building a $40MM+ construction company in under 5 years. Today Max Impact offers staffing services as a franchisee of Patrice & Associates providing Executive Search, Management Recruiting, and Contract Staffing services.