Swing at Strikes!

Baseball is often referred to as, "America's Favorite Pastime." It is a game played with 9 players per side in stadiums both majestic and cozy, by grown men and by young children.

Regardless of the age of the participants or the venue the game is played in, the strike zone is defined as an area 17 inches wide, (the width of home plate) that extends from roughly the batters knees to the letters. A pitch thrown inside that area is referred to as a "strike" and a pitch thrown outside that area is a "ball."

Despite the relatively small strike zone, the very best hitters in the game fail 70% of the time! To achieve even this level of success, great hitters know the strike zone well and rarely swing at balls. However, pitchers are crafty... throwing curveballs, sliders & even knuckleballs - pitches that start inside the strike zone but ultimately end up outside the strike zone as balls. Because of the movement of the pitches or even the optical illusion they create, batters often swing helplessly at these pitches outside the strike zone because they initially looked like strikes. As you might suspect, a batter who regularly swings at balls dramatically lowers his or her batting average.

Organizations that clearly define their "strike zone" - areas where they can focus their time, talent and resources, achieve the highest level of success possible. Conversely, those organizations that consistently swing at "curves, sliders & knuckleballs" - find their time, talent and resources drained without much, if any chance of achieving success.

Swing at strikes!