Quit Swinging the Bat and Start Hitting the Ball
Quit Swinging the Bat and Start Hitting the Ball
Because I know that Dylan has excellent eye-hand coordination, I told him to quit swinging the bat and start hitting the ball. He objected: "How can I hit the ball if I don't swing the bat?" The difference, I explained, is what you think about when you swing. "Concentrate on connecting with the ball."
"You have a great eye," I continued. "Just say to yourself, I'm going to hit the ball." The result? He hit 27 of the next 30 pitches. Granted, all of the 27 weren't solid hits. Some were fouls, but he had learned to hit the ball.
What is the lesson for leaders? You or your people could be vigorously going through the motions, even necessary motions, but not scoring any runs.
In order to focus, you may need to say a mantra to yourself, or use a prop. Helen Gurley Brown, long-time editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine, used a prop. She made it a practice to keep a copy of the magazine on her desk at all times. She said she used the magazine on her desk to keep her thoughts focused on producing a product--the magazine--and not decorating the office or engaging in pleasant conversations.
Let's say you're a VP of sales, and you have made it a rule that your sales people make, say, 5 contacts per day, per week. You certainly want to emphasize how important it is to make those 5 contacts, because nobody sells unless they make contacts. But make sure that your people recognize that the goal is not 5 contacts per day--that's swinging the bat. The goal is making sales when they make the contacts.
Making the contacts is swinging the bat. Selling is hitting the ball when you swing.
Adapted from The Achievement Digest, Issue No. 64
Quit Swinging the Bat and Start Hitting the Ball - To learn more about this author, visit Gene Griessman's Website.
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Last summer my grandson Dylan, who was playing on a little league team, went into a hitting slump. He had been swinging vigorously, doing his best to look like a big-league slugger. But he was missing the ball more often than hitting it.
Because I know that Dylan has excellent eye-hand coordination, I told him to quit swinging the bat and start hitting the ball. He objected: "How can I hit the ball if I don't swing the bat?" The difference, I explained, is what you think about when you swing. "Concentrate on connecting with the ball."
"You have a great eye," I continued. "Just say to yourself, I'm going to hit the ball." The result? He hit 27 of the next 30 pitches. Granted, all of the 27 weren't solid hits. Some were fouls, but he had learned to hit the ball.
What is the lesson for leaders? You or your people could be vigorously going through the motions, even necessary motions, but not scoring any runs.
In order to focus, you may need to say a mantra to yourself, or use a prop. Helen Gurley Brown, long-time editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine, used a prop. She made it a practice to keep a copy of the magazine on her desk at all times. She said she used the magazine on her desk to keep her thoughts focused on producing a product--the magazine--and not decorating the office or engaging in pleasant conversations.
Let's say you're a VP of sales, and you have made it a rule that your sales people make, say, 5 contacts per day, per week. You certainly want to emphasize how important it is to make those 5 contacts, because nobody sells unless they make contacts. But make sure that your people recognize that the goal is not 5 contacts per day--that's swinging the bat. The goal is making sales when they make the contacts.
Making the contacts is swinging the bat. Selling is hitting the ball when you swing.
Adapted from The Achievement Digest, Issue No. 64
Quit Swinging the Bat and Start Hitting the Ball - To learn more about this author, visit Gene Griessman's Website.
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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