Integrating Baseball and Leadership into Business
Like many young athletes, I thought I would end up playing baseball my whole life. That was my goal throughout high school, college and during my post-grad years coaching high school baseball and working as a professional baseball scout for the Montreal Expos.
Of course, the plan changed as it became evident that I would not play at the Major League level. I found my way into the vacation ownership industry as a salesperson, but I wouldn’t trade my experiences in the baseball world for anything. My career’s success is tied directly to the lessons I learned on the athletic field, and I continue to apply many of these takeaways every day in my current role as CEO leading over 10,000 team members at Diamond Resorts. Here are a few nuggets from my playing and scouting days that remain relevant for any aspiring leader.
Take the Time to Understand Your Team as Individuals
I had the honor of playing for baseball for the great Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry during my time at Limestone University, and one thing that he did better than anyone I ever played for was to take the time to get to know all of his players individually. He would see beyond their baseball abilities and recognize their unique personalities as people. With this level of personal understanding of his players, Gaylord was able to both inspire and develop each player while maintaining a very high sense of collective chemistry and individual commitment to the team first. He always had his fingers on the pulse of both player and team, and it made us great as a group.
This showed me how crucial it is for leaders to invest the time to understand their team members individually and to know how to develop them. By doing this, you will know their personalities, self-motivation, goals, working styles, and individual ceilings. This approach makes it easier to define success for each team member and helps them to succeed while having one common team goal.
During my time as a professional baseball scout, my biggest applicable takeaway was the value of being able to project talent out three, four, and five years into the future. This is a skill set that few are ever introduced to and that I apply every day as a CEO. By knowing your team members individually, you are able to not only recognize where they have come from and where they are today, but most importantly you can better project how they should develop in their individual careers and establish effective succession planning.
Always Bet on Makeup/Character
Attitude is important but it can change, especially in the world of hospitality where you are interacting with people constantly. Experience and ability are always crucial to any role, but these are also areas that can be developed and improved over time. Someone’s character and personality, however, is less likely to change. I believe in hiring the individual based on his or her makeup, then using the resources we have available to develop them accordingly.
In my experience, some of our best Diamond hires have been those who brought a level of dedication and spirit to their role that doesn’t always show up on a resume. It’s important to find people who bring passion day in and day out; these are the people who rise up and become thought leaders and difference-makers in the business world. As they say, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Over 30 years ago, Gaylord Perry took a chance on a young center fielder with a passion for baseball, but also a kid who liked to have fun off the field and who had not yet lived up to his potential in the classroom. I can hear him telling me his recruiting pitch like it was yesterday:
“I can promise you one thing son – with your baseball ability, you have the opportunity to be my everyday center fielder and to be a middle-of-the-order offensive player. I will give you the opportunity on the field, and what you choose to do with the opportunity in the classroom will be the only thing that can hold you back.”
Those were Gaylord’s words to me 30 years ago, when he was competing to recruit me to play for him at Limestone. Looking back, while I had a Hall of Fame college career, I never made it to the major leagues. What I know today was that Gaylord did his due diligence not only on my baseball ability, but also on my character. He knew my work ethic from growing up on fishing boats, and my probability of performing well on the field and in the classroom. Thankfully, he made a successful bet on my “makeup” when he could have easily gone in a different direction.
Put Team Members in a Position to Capitalize on Strengths
In most cases, people enjoy doing what they are good at. Whether that means being a great sales team leader or a resort manager who goes above and beyond to create new on-site programs, it’s important for any leader to see their team members beyond just the job description. We consistently encourage team members at all levels to bring forward new ideas and approaches, and we find that empowering people helps them shape their current roles and ultimately allows them to evolve into what they do best.
When I make regular decisions on capital allocations, new product developments, acquisitions, and much more, I always consider how this fits our current personnel. What determines if I am willing to make the bet is whether I believe that the team can execute the goal at hand. I pass on opportunities in some cases, but in most instances, thanks to having played to our team members’ strengths, I know that we not only have talented team members in the company but, most importantly, we have the right leaders in the right seats on the bus!
There is no Substitute for Commitment and Work Ethic
For every home run or a complete game pitched that you see on TV, there are countless hours spent individually honing one’s craft both physically and mentally in order to become a professional player. Meanwhile, some of the most talented baseball players I played with growing up simply did not want to put in the time to be truly great. The same goes for the professional world.
Success in the hospitality industry means always putting forth your best effort, being ready to learn and grow, and getting your hands dirty in order to do the best job you can do. By being committed and all-in doing what it takes to get the job done, you show both yourself and your colleagues that you are committed and have the work ethic needed to succeed individually while doing what is best for the collective team.
Honing one’s skills in the sporting world and applying these concepts in running a business is an impactful correlation that has served me well as a company leader, and that I will continue to tap into on a daily basis.
