TOMI MAGAZINE / TONISHA L. JOHNSON

The tools for learning are always in front of you. Entrepreneurs can’t always find the time to read a book or clear their schedule’s to head off to a panel discussion about enterprising. You have to take learning lessons where you can get it. Use them to expand the business. Here are five great ways the game of Baseball can show you how your business can hit a homerun:

1. Recruiting the right team

“For both the front office and on the field” – says Andrew T. Berlin, CEO of Berlin Packaging, a limited owner of the Chicago White Sox, and owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league team – the Indiana South Bend Silver Hawks. “[You] need to get people that have the right traits. It’s not about their resume or their stats. You want people that have a hunger to win. Sure there might be specific experience or background you want. But the DNA they have and how they approach every day is essential to success.”

 

2. Ensuring great leadership and coaching

“A great leader has a number of key elements” – says Andrew. “They need to be trusted. They need to have a vision that they communicate. They need a strong work ethic. And they need to be a voracious learner. A great coach and manager can turn around a baseball team. The same holds true in business every day.”

 

3. Having a clear strategy

“In baseball, you need to consider how you should play every pitch or every game. Adjustments are made based on the playing conditions, the opponent, and the players on the field. Overall, there’s a limited amount of people and salary dollars to get it all done. Business is the same. You need to use your resources wisely and tweak your actions to accomplish your overall goals. At the Silver Hawk our strategy is about being the preferred place for family entertainment. We’ve made a series of important investments to make that come to life.”

 

4. Delivering an unmatched customer experience

“This is about building customer loyalty and customer thrill. Businesses can learn a lot from baseball in this regard. Baseball is basically the entertainment business. You want to draw people to the stadium, get them in efficiently, provide a great show, have them enjoy the food and amenities, and get them out easily so that they come back again. There’s a lot of science to this. You can think about all the touch points a fan has at a ball park. You can come up with a memory you want to instill, and then work to improve the touch-points to make that memory come to life.”

 

5. Innovating every day

“Baseball fans need to be stimulated and inspired constantly” – states Andrew. “So, it might be the amenities at the park or promotions offered, or ways to tighten the team’s position with the community. There is a lot of innovation in baseball. It all starts with the fan or the customer, and this is something businesses can draw from. Think about creating WOW moments.”