The first part of the conversation goes like this: I’m like 2 for my last 20. This is selfish, this is inexcusable, and if a player ever gripes about how bad they are doing, I would remove them, and say thanks for reminding me.

If you are not getting credit, or not performing up to your standards but the team or the organization is winning, Shut Up. When you are part of a team or an organization, it is not about you, it is much bigger than that. Also, lets say you haven’t got a hit in a week but you are still in the line up, why would you:

speak up and remind everyone how bad you are doing
or
make the moment about you.

Because you are selfish, and like the Woody Harrelson’s quote from White Men Can’t Jump
“you would rather look good first, and win second”

And since you are not looking good at the moment, the winning isn’t your focal point. That is great if you are playing Tennis or Golf, but if you are this individual you are part of a team, and you need to understand the team is more important than you. Also, if you have one of these individuals on your team or in your organization you need to either get them in line with the team view (very tough to do) or get rid of them. One person cannot win a championship but they sure can make sure you do not win one.

When I was coaching at Central Michigan University we won the MAC Championship. On the poster that was put up and handed out, one of the first guys on the field, and one of the happiest guys on the field was a Left Handed Pitcher who pitched 2 innings all year. Why? Because he knew what everyone on great organizations knows:

Everyone gets a ring

What kind of person are you? The best part is, only you know the answer, and only you can be true to yourself. Maybe if you are a bad hitter, but you are still in the line up, you are in there because you play great defense, and the coach is willing to trade the offense for your defense. Play your part, and when your name is called, give it everything you have, and if your name isn’t called, support the team, and be happy, like Matt Loomis was, for the entire Central Michigan University Baseball team.

When I was playing in the Detroit Tiger’s organization we would practice fly ball communication on a regular basis in spring training and mini camps as well.  During these drills a coach would launch a fly ball using a pitching machine and then people were supposed to call the ball and then catch it, using the method of yelling “I got it” three times as loud as you can.

Once in a while the ball would get called by two people at the same time and then at the last second both would back off because they heard the other person and the ball would drop in.  When this happened people would get scolded, benched, and if it happened enough you would just get released.  Or in the real world you were “FIRED” due to poor communication. 

The problem with this lies in the fact that the communication wasn’t poor, the communication system was poor.  Meaning, it wasn’t at the player level where the communication was breaking down, it was at the management level, and more precisely whoever decided that “I got it” three times was enough.  Long story short, the players were not given the best opportunity to succeed, and were then fired for something that could have been avoided if upper management did a better job.

While I was coaching at Central Michigan University we did these exact same drills, with different communication techniques.  At CMU, just like with the Tigers, all the players in the area would go after the ball, then the player who thought they could catch it would yell “Ball” as many times as they needed, until the other players around would use a “You” call. 

The secret is the “You” call, it allows the player who made the “Ball” call to feel safe, they knew nobody was going to crash into them.  I can honestly say in all the practices and games we had I never saw a ball hit the ground because of an error in communication.  Why? Because Coach Jaksa, who is the head coach, had implemented a system that worked, a system that gave the players the best chance to succeed.  The system involved two way communication, and it was across the board, you could not do it any other way.  One person spoke and the other acknowledged that they heard them.

In business a drop fly ball could mean a package doesn’t get shipped on time, a meeting gets missed, you arrive late to work, or any other negative outcome.  A proper communication system should be implemented and it should be uniform across an organization.  You may call this micro managing but I call it setting people up for success.  When it comes to communication there can never be too much, and it can never be too direct.  I would rather answer 40 questions then have someone make a mistake that could cost us the game. 

Everything branches off communication, be it sales, marketing, advertising, email, meetings, or any other form of direct or indirect communication, so this means your communication system must be perfect.  There are many systems that help a business move forward but a great communication system is probably the most important.