Truth be told, my favorite diamond comes with four bases and a mound. I am always sad when another season of spring baseball is over. With each and every season, lessons and opportunities to grow on and off the field present themselves. Here were our top lessons learned this season:
- It’s Not Over Until the Last Out – A team in my eldest son’s division had just an “ok” performance in regular season, but took everyone by surprise when they won the championship game. When you talked to the coaches, they credited their success to playing to their strengths, staying positive, never giving up, practicing and sticking to their playbook. Applying strategy and putting in the work paid off for this team.
- An Ounce of Encouragement Wins Every Time – One of our players was on the receiving end of a lot of negativity from the coaches and teammates. Changing the narrative to encouragement and positive reinforcement instantly improved his play! Inclusion, encouragement and positive reinforcement are game changers. He ended the season by saying it was the best one yet and he didn’t want it to end. Actions and words have tremendous power. Make a difference with both!
- Know the Rules – Seems to be an obvious statement, but knowing the rules is always important – in business, sports, home and school. Know the rules and play by them. We had teams check us (bat sizes, mound distance, etc.) and, if we had not been following the rules, this might have been an issue. An opposing team jumbled their line-up and it resulted in two automatic outs … they ended up losing the game; and while one can never say for certain, that situation appeared to be the momentum changer.
- Embrace the Fail – Baseball is a game designed for you to fail. I love that simple fact. Every play there is one win and one fail. There is a tremendous amount of pressure on every player; but if applied correctly, it can result in lifelong lesson. It’s not if you fail, it is how you recover from the failure. So you strike out … what happens next? You hit a two-run homer. Fail. Learn. Progress. On repeat.
We love baseball. It connects our family. We invest our time together because of the lessons learned on and off the field. These lessons are easily adapted into business and life.
What’s your business’ game plan? How can we help you win? Let’s play ball!