There was a recent baseball game with the home team’s young ace just mowing hitters down, in fact, a no-hitter. So, when the team manager walks to the mound, and signals the bullpen to make a pitching change, the fans go crazy…there’s no changing pitchers in the middle of a no-hitter! Oh yes, there is – when the pitcher is a generational player with years ahead of him…if his young arm holds up.
What’s the lesson here? First, let’s assign the roles: as a business owner, you are the manager. Your employees are the pitcher and the team. And those fans booing could be your stockholders, your board, or truth be told, company naysayers who for whatever reason were not supportive of the decision to change. Of course, they feel entitled to let you hear it.
Playing the part of manager, I would never give one thought to sending an assistant coach out to make the pitching change, and I would answer any sports writer’s question. When you are the driving force behind a decision to change, your confidence level needs to be at 100% to take the credit for success, or the blame if it fails. Everyone in your circle of influence, as you map out change, needs to be made clear of your ‘why’ vision – the Big Picture. When its your company, change is seldom about two or three more innings, but the far horizon.
Considering change is a mental speedway. You need to have guardrails, but I am not a fan of restrictor plates. Always be open to discussion, critical as well as positive. But when you are not satisfied 100%, time for action. I believe nurturing an asset like our young pitcher and allowing him to grow into his full potential is no different than evaluating your business processes, practices, and people, including those that appear to be running out of fuel. It is all about timing. The bottom-line short answer: if the change I am considering is going to help us get better, it has got to be done. No better example than when THE college head coach swapped QBs at half-time – from a veteran to an unproven freshman – and won a National Championship, saying the change was their best chance to win.
The manager sure did pull his pitcher and it was a good change: more young pitchers out there with sore arms than no-hitters. You cannot be overwhelmed by the moment. You sometimes must revise good practices so they endure and flourish over the long run. Look down that road, meet new challenges without fear…embrace change!