Five Baseball Terms that Relate to a Business

Innings – There are 9 innings in each game of baseball where the teams have a chance to clench the win. Each inning is crucial to win the game whether you’re batting or playing the field. In business each inning is another step closer to achieving your goal. You have to defend it and strategize against the other team or other businesses out there you’re competing against. It’s a timeline for a business where 9 innings of baseball can be over in 3 or 4 hours. Innings in business can be over 1 to 10 years etc. Each inning is important when building your business or brand and competing against the others out there. Sometimes you can get into a slump where the inning last longer than the others but you know you will pull out of it because you believe in your team.

Pinch Hitting – Pinch hitter is a substitute hitter that can sub in at any time of the game. This can happen when a player is off in his game, frustrated or just simply for strategy against a certain team. Sometimes you can’t do it all or be the stand out star in everything. As many skills and talents we can posses we all have faults and things we lack in. You have to realize that you can’t do everything on your own – you can do a lot but you can’t do it all. This where you have someone help you or let them take over a few things for you. It could be because they are better in that area than you are, you don’t have the time or you just think you need to take a few things off of your plate so you can concentrate on your strengths. Sending in the pinch hitter is not always maybe what you want to do but sometimes it’s what’s best for the team.

Curve Ball – a curve ball is a nasty pitch that looks like it’s coming right at you and then curves in when you least expect it. Needless to say it can put you up in the count, cause you to strike out or you can have an amazing hit off of it if you time it just right. In business (and life) you’re going to get curve balls thrown at you all the time and sometimes everyday but you have to be prepared and face it head on as they come. Nobody likes the curve ball because it’s unexpected and not really predictable. In business (and baseball) when you have a curveball come your way it can either break you or make you, it’s up to you.

Seventh-Inning Stretch – This is a tradition that takes place between halves of the seventh inning of any game where fans stand up and stretch or walk around a bit or of course sing “take me out to the ball game.” You have to know when to get up and stretch when running a business, meaning you have to take time off and recuperate. It’s so easy to get caught up in the business to where you live and breathe it every day but sometimes taking time to get out and let your mind be free of business is the best thing you can do for your business. You may just have some of your best ideas come from relaxing and being away from the business…true story.

Grand Slam – All bases are loaded with runners and the batter hits a homerun causing them to score the most runs in a single bat. This is where all the team members have successfully gotten on base and just waiting to round the plate to home. Every player wants to hit a grand slam and who wouldn’t? In business if you work as a team and work towards the goals you set while being consistent with every bat you step up to take then you can hit a grand slam and knock it out of the park. We all want to hit grand slams in our business so what’s holding you back?