Spindustry Blog

Baseball and Business

Posted by Spindustry Digital on November 18, 2011
Scene from Moneyball

Guest Blog By Jim Immel, Owner of  Immel and Associates, Inc

I relate many sports movies to business, and “Moneyball” got me thinking.

  • Has your business changed?
  • Has the way you compete for business changed?
  • Are there new competitors that have entered your business?
  • Does your competition have deeper pockets than ever before?
  • What about your best people?
  • Has the competition for your talent changed?
  • Previously the biggest competition was your competition recruiting your people?
  • Is the threat of your people starting or partnering with others to start their own business becomes a bigger threat than competition hiring your talent?

So, how does this relate to “Moneyball”?  The whole concept of “Moneyball” is about asking new questions to answer problems that have existed years.  How does a small market major league baseball team compete for talent with big market teams?  With free agency how does a smaller payroll compete for people who can score more runs (and keep other teams from scoring)?

Well, there was a change in perspective.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.  Without a change of perspective and new questions we actually may be acting insane without a new perspective.

Brainstorming a new question can take some time.  Maybe one question will lead to better questions. Maybe it is time to ask others the right questions.  What if you start by asking people who appreciate what you do?  Just ask, “How can we get better?  How can we improve?  What else?”

After continually questioning your process, you can get closer to understanding how to compete with competitors that may have deeper pockets than you.

Topics: business development