Not Fair I Said...

Why is there such an easy connection between the sports world and business?  Well… there are team leaders (in sports there is the team captain, but they do not make all the decisions; in business the best managers do not make all the decisions), there are lanes in which we operate (goalies do not always communicate with the forwards and strategy folks should not manage operational folks), there are times to change the plan in the middle of an event (football is the best sport to see how the team modifies the strategy after every play, the best companies understand their changing organizational or customers’ needs and adapt readily), and matching great talent with great positions leads to great success (your team or structure is only as good as the talent within and how well their position matches their strength – would you put a softball catcher at shortstop?).

And on the other side of the coin, Bill Taylor from Fast Company argues that here’s what’s wrong with making analogies between sports and business: “The logic of competition and success is completely different. What makes football or basketball so exhilarating is that only one team wins at the end of a season”. In the case of the World Series, there is one world champion, and many other MLB teams with crushed dreams and saddened fans – sorry Cleveland. For the Dodgers to win (sorry Astros fans), every other team must lose. The logic of business competition is nothing like this. The most successfully run companies, those that win big and create the most economic value, worry less about crushing the competition than about delighting and amazing their customers - everyday. The very idea of zero-sum competition (for the Dodgers to win, the Astros must lose) feels like a relic from a long-ago era of business. Almost all businesses have room for plenty of different winners, each of which is great at serving a focused piece of the market or a certain set of customers.

I can see both sides of this coin.  Although I lean to the similarities with sports and business, mostly around leadership.  The sports world provides a nice metaphor for business, and there are some similarities.   Focused competition, winning by a slim margin, achieving specific goals and targets {batting average, ERA, OBP, etc.}, establishing long-term and short-term strategies {best fielding team, lowest ERA, winning the division, winning the NLCS, winning the World Series}, hard work, attention to detail, determination, teamwork, dealing with success and rebounding from failure – all of these are key challenges in both business and sports.

Successful managers and successful sports coaches can draw amazing performances from their employees or their players through a balance of individual and overall connections.  A common goal, optimism, creativity, authentic communication and humanity.  As I stated a few weeks back, “Adapt. Become a better version of yourself.  Continuously improve.  Challenge the unknown.  Envision the path to success.  Create possibility for your teams.  Work together.  Communicate openly.  Focus on the path to success not the obstacles in the way.”  Show your team the possibilities.  Even when down by four runs with the best pitcher in baseball on the mound.  Never give up.

…and we lead into the unknown.  Specifically, Sunday night the Dodgers pitched Clayton Kershaw {arguably in the top five pitchers of all-time…with a healthy nod to Pedro Martinez, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, and Sandy Koufax} faced Dallas Kuechel (14-5 this year … pretty darn good) in what should have been a low scoring pitcher duel.  And mid game the Dodgers were up by 4 runs with Kershaw in command.  Then the plan … well there was no longer a plan.  At the end of the game there were 28 hits, 25 runs, 7 home runs, and 85 batters.  13-12 final score (congrats Astros).  Wow.  So much for low scoring.

If you are the leader {manager} of either of these teams, your entire game plan is out the window half-way through the game.  Balls are flying out of the stadium.  14 different players have gone deep in the World Series, a new record.  22 total home runs have been hit in the World Series, a new record.  101 home runs have been hit in the postseason overall, a new record.   Three, three-run home runs hit in Game 5, a new record.  Pitching wins the World Series – yeah right.  The choice is to adjust or get left behind.

Among other things, sports teach us about the importance of performance, goal setting, practice, hard work, skill, passion, discipline, perseverance, concentration, mental attitude and desire.   Success in business does as well.  Through sports, we learn about the importance of team work, team chemistry and everybody being on the same page.  How to overcome adversity – how to win when you are losing.   We also learn about the relationship between mental and physical toughness.  David beats Goliath.   We discover what it takes to be the best and that often times we do not win on talent alone. The best teams on paper at the start of the World Series (Cubs? Cleveland?), for instance, did not compete last night for the World Series.  We learn that life is not fair or just, that being part of a team is not a sometimes thing and that quitting is not an option.   Each person on our team has a role and we can only be successful if everyone comes through.  Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

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