Second Season

If you are a baseball fan this is the time of year when everything changes, unless your favorite team is the Pittsburgh Pirates who packed their bags earlier in the week after a record 19th consecutive losing season. The latter would be my plight...but I digress. The postseason is an exciting time as division champions and wild-card qualifiers battle to reach the World Series. Since I live near Philadelphia I’m wishing our home team, the Phillies, much success as they enjoy another appearance in baseball’s second season.

A player’s reputation can rise and fall based on his playoff performance. Just last year the Phillies star first baseman, Ryan Howard, was abysmal after a very productive regular season. Yesterday he quickly erased those memories with a towering home run that sparked a decisive win in Game One of this year’s division series. That’s the beauty of baseball’s second season, from goat to glory with one swing!

The goal of getting into baseball’s postseason is simple...make it to the World Series and win a championship. Along the way each team is challenged to find a combination of pitching, hitting, and defense that gives them a competitive edge. Sometimes it is one player whose on field performance ensures a victory—like a dominating pitcher. Other times it is the entire team’s commitment to superb execution, like timely hits, stolen bases, or outstanding defense that wins the game.

I doubt if leaders view their work in terms of regular or second seasons. With today’s challenging environment I’m thinking many leaders are simply in a survival mode. What might happen if leaders took seriously the challenge to turn their teams from consistent losers into a winning, productive group? Suppose everyone imagined their company as competing for a championship crown? What would your customers say if they experienced world-class service on a routine basis?
  
I don’t particularly like to quantify leadership and teamwork only in terms of winning or losing. We have enough over-the-top competition in the marketplace. But I do like the concept that second season implies—a chance to create a superb reputation for integrity, execution, and service. Play ball!