Business Insight Zone

Are you like me? Do you have a hard time saying “No”?

Last month a friend invited me to take part in a blogging project. When I saw the list of people he was inviting, I was flattered even to be included. The guy making the offer is a friend of mine socially, but also a stone-cold professional. I wanted to jump at the chance to work with him.

But as much as I did, I had to admit it wasn’t the right opportunity. Before I told him “No,” I listed the two main reasons for myself:

• I like to think I know something about business, but I know I lack expertise in the topic at hand. My friend was giving me too much credit.
• I say “Yes” too much in general . . . which makes me overbooked . . . which means that each project I do suffers under the weight of all the projects I take on. (Sound familiar at all, O overworked legions?)

This one time, I talked myself down from saying “Yes,” and I was glad I did. It’s a habit I’m working hard to replicate. The takeaway I hope you’ll share with me:

It’s easy to say “No” to obvious losing propositions.
It’s hard when the opportunities are attractive.

So where does the rainbow-colored diagram come in?

It’s taken from Ted Williams‘ classic baseball manual, The Science of Hitting. Williams used it to show what batting average he guessed he’d earn if every pitch he faced were in that particular part of the strike zone. (Imagine you’re the pitcher facing Williams, and he’s standing on the left-hand side of the chart.) The colors are brighter for the areas where Williams knew he hit the best. They bear out his assertion — backed up by his own prodigious career — that “baseball history is made on the inner half of the plate.”

The fact that Williams gave this so much thought helps to explain why he was one of the greatest hitters of all time. But the book has an even simpler formulation for what goes into great hitting, regardless of the type of hitter we’re talking about:

“Get a good pitch to hit.”

I submit to you that it’s a great rule for business, too. Sure, you could reach the prospects at the fringe of your ideal target range — and it’s especially tempting to do that when the economy is as tight as it is now.

But is that where your best margins lie? Are those the kind of customers you’ll have in the brightest version of your company’s future? In other words, is that how you’ll make business history?

Ignore the pitches you can’t drive. Get a good pitch to hit.

Be selective.

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Image source.