My dad brought me up with a healthy respect for major league baseball.  Since my first Mets game in 1971 and as recently as this morning, my dad has offered insightful descriptions of the coach’s strategy, player’s skills and team’s challenges.  At Shea (peanuts in hand), listening to radio, or watching on TV, I learned why each game was critical, leaving a man on third without a solid lead is a disgrace, and striking out without swinging or popping up to the catcher for an easy out is “the worst”. 

For Father’s Day, honoring these real lessons, here is a baseball story a client shared.  Joe is an SVP with a Fortune 20 global brokerage firm. 

During our first conversation, Joe expressed serious discouragement in the face of a changing bond market and the resulting revenue impact.  He previously earned a high salary but faced a situation many of us face mid-career – wondering how to fulfill our potential, make a difference and generate more money or have more fun doing it.

After getting the general picture, I asked Joe to tell me about something he had done that made him feel terrific, not necessarily related to work. 

Joe told me his best friend Steve had come to him “with a mission”.  Steve’s son wasn’t doing well in Little League.  In fact, he wasn’t even swinging at the ball.  He would either walk or strike out.  Steve is a successful lawyer with side talents including digital photography and woodworking but no experience with baseball and no idea how to help his son. 

Joe, a strong athlete, offered to work with the boy.  He recalled, “When we started out, he couldn’t even hold the bat.  I started slow, with a tennis ball, facing the house.  That way he could hit the house and hear the ball make a nice thwack against the brick, or maybe even hit a window.  I figured a tennis ball wouldn’t break the glass and even if it did, his dad would be OK with it.

Soon enough, he was hitting the house.  Then I said, let’s see you hit it OVER the house.  By the end of the day, he could hit a real ball well enough to build his batting skills at Little League.”

I told Joe that was a great story.  He shrugged it off.

Until a week ago, when he saw the same boy at a local gathering.  The boy, now twelve and a confident player asked, “Joe are you going to teach your little son to play baseball soon?”  Joe, pleased the boy was reminiscing about his own lessons, replied, “So you remember learning to hit?”

The boy looked puzzled for a minute, then opened his eyes wide recaling,  “Joe YOU taught me to bat!  I really stunk, but you taught me to hit the house and then over the house.”

Joe demonstrated a special gift for making that kid feel like a winner one step at a time.  And in retelling this story he uncovered a unique trait which parallels his ability to patiently teach clients about fixed income investments – even the complex tax details.  Now we’re using this personality trait as the basis of new sales strategies for Joe, not to mention new confidence levels. 

A couple of lessons apply universally:

1. For many of us, wouldn’t that great sound of hitting the house motivate greater achievements?  Whether building your own skills or training someone else, think about using a tennis ball and hitting the house as a start. 

2. Like both Joe and his young protégé, we often forget learning to do what we do well today.  Don’t let those memories fade.  The effort and the journey is part of who you are, and is worthy of your reflection … and pride.

If you’d like to share a similar or related story, please contact me, Stefanie Smith, executive consultant and coach.