what business people can learn from albert p

One of the most frustrating things I believe a young person can face in their early career is when they suggest the same ideas and showcase the same type of smarts as more experienced people sitting around them at the same table … and yet their ideas just don’t go for hits.

They die.

They wither.

They whatever.

Regardless. Their ideas go nowhere.

Part of it has nothing to do with the young person (and that is tough). Part if it has to do with what’s going on the other side of the table. A lot of it has to do with what the more experienced person on the same side of the table has done up to this point.

Here is an obtuse example (or at least one that may make you scratch your head).

Albert Pujos of the Cardinals. We have already posted on King Albert’s amazing career to date and how it measures versus others greats.

So. The point. He has come out smoking this year. Batting about .400 and more home runs than anyone else to date.

But.

A peek behind the numbers.

He bats almost .600 when he goes up 1-0 in the count (or let’s say the guys on the other side of the table immediately give him one).

Oh. That’s a big difference between his real batting average.

Oh. In addition. 4 of his current 5 home runs have come after he has had a 1-0 count.

So young smart talented people. Here’s the deal.

Suck it up.

Assume you are starting with one strike in the count immediately.

And there is another person at the table who is up 1 and 0. That’s life in the big house.

Next.

The way to start getting 1-0 counts is to earn some respect.

Albert didn’t always get the first pitch. Earlier in his career he would get down 0-1. But he started making them pay for mistakes later on in the count. He started getting what he wanted by making them work harder and think harder.

And, to be clear, the point here isn’t that he made them pay on the first pitch. He earned respect by making them pay from the entire at bat. After awhile opposing pitchers and managers realized he was winning a lot of battles and started becoming more careful. And he took advantage of it so he (and his team) could win more often.

But let’s face it.

It is easier to be successful if you get the first pitch.

In baseball. In the business world. In life.

It doesn’t matter.

Oh. I guess another lesson. This also means he sometimes lays off the first pitch. He doesn’t swing at everything. Okay. That’s another post for another day.