Who's on First

While this week’s Monday Huddle Up isn’t about the famous Abbot and Costello routine in the title above, baseball season is upon us. So we thought we would kick off the season with a baseball theme. (If you haven’t ever seen the Who’s on First routine, Google it, it’s timeless).

For the past several years, a group of dads in our neighborhood have coached our kids’ Little League teams. Our son Brock’s current team (the Bombers) features a great group of young men, ages 9-10. I happen to be the assistant coach in charge of the lineup card and also coach third base. That last part is where this week’s MHU edition comes from.

This past weekend, while coaching third base, our team mounted a furious late inning rally. Down by six runs in the bottom of the final inning, the boys strung together some hits, walks, and stolen bases that eventually delivered the tying run to second base with one out. One of my favorite kids that I’ve ever coached (Desmond) was on third base, so his run didn’t really “count” so to speak. We needed him to score yes, but the big run was the runner behind him, which would have tied the score. The events that unraveled next I don’t think I’ve ever seen happen.

With Desmond (aka Dez) on third and the tying run right behind him with only one out in the inning, our hitter struck out for out number two. On the strikeout, the ball got away from the catcher and rolled to the backstop. Dez reacted and took off for home. By the time we all yelled for him to get back to third base it was too late. The catcher recovered the ball and got back to home plate to easily tag Dez out to end the game. So in an instant it was a strike out, wild pitch, caught stealing. Game over. (As an aside, the next batter we had coming up is statistically one of our best hitters, but he didn’t get the chance).

Dez knew exactly what mistake he made. He “ran us out of the inning” in baseball vernacular, which is the last thing we needed. We never had the chance to get that tying run home. Dez is a great kid and has a good baseball mind for 10-year-old. He won’t make that mistake again.

The moral to the story as it relates to business?.....

You can’t let the game end before you get your chance at bat.

We see organizations every day that put the cart in front of the horse and lose out on potential opportunities to “win” the game. They don’t protect that tying or game winning run and eventually the clock hits zero or the third out (in this case) is recorded.

So as leaders, we have to ensure that our teams always have the opportunity to win the game you are playing. If that is farming or gardening, you have to pay attention to the soil before you can reap a harvest. In academia, you have to study before the test. In sports, it’s having the right players in the right position to maximize your score.

Whatever industry you are in, we need to provide the right resources to the right human capital (people) to be successful. And we have to have all those pieces in place at the right time as well.

Put the best team in place that you can. Arm them with the tools they need, when they need them. Get the winner’s circle more often.

Have a “winning” week ahead.