Failure is NOT an option…but it IS a poor mindset
As the 2017 baseball season has drawn to a close with a “do-or-die” game seven in the Fall Classic, we are reminded yet again, that the game mirrors business. Specifically, there is no room for failure.
But what, exactly, is failure?
The Dodgers were outscored and, therefore, didn’t hoist the trophy. There is no prize for participating. They came up one win short of the championship, but does that really qualify as a failure? In some respects, maybe, but to attach that characterization to a result demonstrates flawed thinking. And it certainly doesn’t mesh with the realities of the game.
As likely American League Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees said, “People say it’s a game of failure, but I like looking at it like a game of opportunity.”
Wise words from a young star, and while they don’t state it exactly, those words hint at the lesson I believe to be the core of what makes baseball such a great game and life teacher. Even doing things right all the time doesn’t ensure you get the result you want. That adversity is inherent within the game, but it isn’t failure — unless you allow it to be.
Getting three hits every 10 at bats puts a hitter among the all-time greats, but considering the other seven at bats failures is wrong. That hitter had to do things correctly all 10 times to generate the desired result those three times. Furthermore, that hitter worked through countless hours of batting practice, drills, tee and toss work and mental training — literally thousands of swings — to prepare 10 at bats. If that hitter becomes fixated on a magical result not always within his control, he does so at the expense of other factors that are manageable.
That said, those final statistics and results are the ultimate standards by which hitters are evaluated, but even they are changing with the proliferation of sabermetrics and advanced analytics. Batting average, while still important, is only one piece of an increasingly complicated puzzle. Too much focus on hitting .300 can result in too little focus on other, more situation-driven metrics associated with being a good hitter.
Per a previous article, the communications field faces a similar evolution as it pertains to metrics and stats. While no one is exactly sure how this will play out over the long term, our best course of action as professionals is to do what we can to mirror the mindset of that hitter striving to become more complete.
I distinctly remember a professional mentor and former supervisor of mine telling clients, “PR is a process…not an event.” It’s a simple statement, but it carries profound implications. We need to be effective in our own hours of “batting practice.” A lot of the foundational work we do as professionals (media lists, tracking, reporting etc.) is far from glamorous, but if it’s not done correctly and with appropriate attention to detail, it can derail a program before it starts.
And when it comes to hunting earned media? You’re definitely taking that 0-for-4 day. It’s an inevitability, but if you spend too much time worrying about it, you’re going to miss the 1-for-3 and 2-for-3 days that would have gotten you back to .300.
Add to that another truth from my mentor: “No today does not necessarily mean no forever.” If we take every no as a failure and cross that person off the list permanently, we are going to run out of contacts in no time flat. Understand and accept that being told no — usually repeatedly — is an example of the adversity we fight as professionals. It’s difficult, and it’s not fun, but it only rattles our confidence and affects what we do in the future if we allow it to.
A hitter can’t control if he gets rung up on a bad pitch or hits into a defensive shift. All he can do is be prepared and take the right swing at the right pitch.
The same holds true for us as communicators.
Roadblocks are inherent job hazards, but they only derail us if we let them. All we can do is learn from them and keep grinding knowing that we’re smarter than we were before we faced them. As long as we’re relentless about sticking to that process, the results will follow.
