I am here in my office looking out at the snow-covered parking lot and wondering what this new year will bring. It is 15 degrees this morning, but spring is right around the corner. (Hopefully!)
The building industry seems poised to make a strong comeback after several years of contraction. Of course, with the entrance of spring, the national pastime comes back into view.
Spring training is where the purest of baseball fans watch with anticipation as their favorite teams tune up for the long, grinding season. Young first-time non-roster invitees attend their first spring training with the hopes of making the “big club.” On the other side, seasoned veterans come to sharpen their skills in hopes of holding off the young guys just one more year.
It has come down to this very simple fact: “Every day is a tryout.”
Seems a little harsh, but the reality is that in our business every day IS a tryout. We wake up every morning and hit the ground running. There is no looking back. What we do today matters. We are evaluated on results of our performance, not just the activity we create.
This is the very definition of baseball! It doesn’t matter if you have the payroll of the Bronx Bombers or the “Moneyball” Oakland A’s… every day is a tryout.
Maybe to spin it a little differently, baseball is more like the saying: “If your presence doesn’t make an impact, your absence won’t make a difference.” It may seem a little extreme, but it means there is hope for all of us.
In a recent conversation with an 18-year veteran of baseball, he reminded me that you are considered a great player if you hit for an average of .300 (which means you failed 7 out of 10 times at the plate).
The good news is that you can succeed even though failure comes at times. So as spring comes into view and you prepare yourself for the long season ahead, focus on results and knock the cover off the ball!