In the spring of 1998 I became an “instant” volunteer to coach a little league team of 9 and 10-year old’s. My son was on the team, and the coach from the previous year did not return. Since I had been his assistant coach, I needed to take the job of head coach, or let the team disassemble. I chose to take the job.
My first challenge was to define my objectives. The first thing I did was meet with the parents. I said, “I know some of you are very competitive and love to win. Others simply want their boys to learn something and have fun. I want you all to know that we will do both: Have fun…and win!”
Next came my strategy: How were we going to dominate our competition? My strategy was simple. No walks. If you wanted to score a run on our team, you had to earn it. As a result, I enlisted the help of some talented parents and their boys, and we practiced the fundamentals of simply pitching the ball over the plate. I knew if we could do this. we would have a solid season. We did. We went 12-3. The three games we lost were by less than two runs, and in each case, the teams had to “hit” their way to victory rather than drawing walks.
What I applied here is the same thing all of us must do to make our businesses successful. We can ask ourselves these questions:
What can our team do that is unique and special?
Of all the things we can do special, which ones are most critical to our customers?
Which ones are currently not being delivered well?
How can we work out a strategy to fill this gap?
Once we have done this, go for it! Make an all-out commitment to deliver that most important thing that is missing and important. Do it with excellence. We will build strong trust and loyalty.
