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Things I Learned from Watching the Dodgers

Over Labor Day weekend, I went to watch the third game in the series against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Luckily I was able to get a seat in the shady part of the infield reserve instead of baking in 85º of muggy LA summer heat. After getting my traditional Dodger Dog and a soda, I sat down ready to watch my boys play against our Southern California rivals.

Throughout the game, I couldn’t help but think of ways that baseball aligns with everyday business practices. Here are five things that I realized about business from watching the Dodgers play.

There is an “I” in “team”—it’s just hidden.

Scattered across the field were the boys in blue. They’re great as a team, but they are equally incredible as individual players. Zack Greinke pitches strike outs, Juan Uribe throws bullets from third base to first where Adrian Gonzalez makes every catch. Switch any of these players’ roles, and you just might have a circus. Much like how Mustang has writers, designers, account executives and managers, everyone plays the position that they specialize in, and they play it well. It is their individualized talents that make up an incredible team.

One person can make a difference.

As Yasiel Puig hit another home run, I couldn’t help but notice that his athleticism has lifted the morale of the Dodgers and their fans.  Before his debut in June, the team was in last place. Now, they are more than 11 games ahead in their division, and serious contenders for the playoffs—and potentially the World Series!

In both positive and negative ways, one person can be the tipping point. By exhibiting a encouraging, constructive attitude, you can motivate your fellow office mates and help them perform better, or, you can bellyache and whine about how you’re above your current job and bring morale down. Positive and negative, both can alter a team atmosphere.

Selflessness over selfishness.

A hitter can give up all chances of smashing a glorified home run (or a triple, double, single, an increased batting average printed on his Topps player card, pretty much everything) for the sake of the team. The sacrifice bunt/fly is used to get a man into scoring position, and is exactly as the name states: a sacrifice. Sometimes it’s not about what you can do to better yourself, but what’s best for the team.

Children are judged by their efforts, adults are judged by their results.

A quote I first heard from our very own Scott Harris, the saying came to mind when I watched Kenley Jansen make his 17th straight save—now leading the MLB with more than 100 saves. Brandon League, the former closer, started to blow games in the 9th inning, giving up walk-off hits to the other teams. I’m sure it was no lack of effort on his part. He probably went to practice, performed to the best of his abilities and really tried to close out every game he played, but the bottom line is, he didn’t get results. I could perform design tasks every day, but if I had uncompleted projects, unhappy clients, and goals unachieved, I would have done virtually nothing for the company or for paying clients (or fans).

Keep a tidy workspace.

The Dodgers get down and dirty when they’re out there on the field. At the end of the day, they whipped out the broomsticks and finished a three game sweep of the Padres. Pun intended.

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