What Business Leaders Can Learn From Pitchers

Last year I wrote about some of the valuable lessons we can learn from catchers. It's time to give the other half of the battery its due.

All Eyes on You

Everyone else is standing on flat ground. You're elevated, perched atop the pitching mound. You have the ball in your hand. Nothing can happen until you decide to throw that first pitch. How you show up matters. Your body language. Your presence. How you respond to adversity and competition. Whether you strike out the first batter or he hits a 500 ft home run, the same thing happens next: they're tossing you the ball so you can throw the next pitch. And they're watching to see how you'll react.

Control the Controllables

No matter how good you are, you can't control everything. The umpire is going to make a bad call. Your teammate is going to make an error behind you. The opposing team is going to make an unbelievable play. You can't control any of that. In fact, once that ball leaves your hand, you are almost entirely at the mercy of other people. You go from being in complete control to virtually helpless a mere millisecond later. So all that time and energy you spend worrying about what the client will think, or whether the investor believes in your idea? That's time better spent on honing your craft for those moments when you are in control, so you can deliver the goods.

You Set the Pace

Pitchers who work quickly and throw strikes tend to get better defense played behind them. Why? Their teammates in the field behind them stay alert, on their toes, and in constant motion. They expect something to happen at any moment, and are prepared accordingly. So, when the ball is hit in their direction, their reflexes are sharp, their instincts dialed in, and their bodies are loose. The pitcher with a brisk pace helps maximize his teammates' performance. On the other hand, the pitcher who works methodically and throws a lot of pitches has a tendency of lulling his own team to sleep: fielders lean back on their heels, their minds drift, their reactions lag just a tick. Energy is kinetic. People feed off the energy and cadence you set. If you want a team full of hard-charging extroverts, you better bring the energy yourself.

Adapt or Die

It's one thing to have success when you're on top of your game and in your physical prime. But what happens when fatigue, injuries, or Father Time catch up to you? Can you get hitters out throwing 90 mph when you used to throw 98? Not if you try to do it the same way. The minor leagues are littered with talented, hard-throwing pitchers who can't make adjustments quick enough. The guys who can recognize when they don't have their best stuff, and can then change their approach, they tend to have longevity. Skills decline and competition gets stiffer. The trick? Pay attention when things are going good. Extract some lessons from what's working and what isn't, for both you and your opponent. If you only know one way of doing something, it's going to be awfully tough to adapt when things stop being so easy.

Sometimes You ARE on an Island

Just like a pitcher's pace and strike-throwing can help his defense perform better, a pitcher needs help to maximize his performance, too. His catcher needs to be in sync with him and call a good game. His defense needs to make plays behind him. Sometimes even the weather needs to cooperate. Ultimately, though, no one can execute for you. No one can come out on that mound and help you throw the next pitch. You have to do that yourself. Everyone in winning organizations understands and embraces their role. If you're an executive, you have a slew of people supporting you whose jobs are, in part, to make you look good. But you can't hide forever. When the time comes, you need to be prepared to step up and do your job.

Be Prepared...and Humble

When you're competing at an elite level, you need a good gameplan to be successful. A starting pitcher goes into each game with a strategy. He has a specific way he plans on attacking each hitter in the opposing lineup. He's not going to deviate from that plan the first time something goes wrong. If he throws a good pitch and it gets hit hard, that's baseball. But if his good pitches are consistently getting hammered, he better make an adjustment, and quickly.

Be thoughtful with your gameplan, and execute it with conviction. Commit to it. But don't be so hardheaded that you refuse to adjust. Sometimes you don't have your good stuff. Sometimes your opponent brings his A-game. The competition makes adjustments, so you need to, too. Be humble, stay nimble and don't be afraid to go to Plan B when the time is right.

Beware of Beginner's Luck

There have been a lot of rookies who have made a splash when they first arrive in the Big Leagues. The new kid on the block shows up and makes the best hitters on the planet look downright silly. But a funny thing happens the second trip around the league: hitters adjust. Not only have they faced you once before, but now they also have a video catalogue of every pitch you've thrown. The element of surprise is gone. The competition is on to you. They've studied up and know your strengths & weaknesses, and they're ready. Do you have staying power, or are you a flash in the pan?