It's a tie...

Sitting at my son's first baseball game of the season tonight, I was reminded of an important lesson in business, and in life.

It's all about momentum...

The force of movement in a positive direction. Usually there is an impetus for such momentum. In baseball, momentum comes from a series of great plays, one after another, feeding into the next. A great hit leads to an RBI...that scoring run propelling the team forward into a hot streak. Tonight the Orioles were on fire! First inning: three up, three down. Second inning continued in the same fashion. Third inning, they were up by five.

Then something happened.

The momentum shifted. Suddenly the opposing team was hitting, scoring, their stands cheering, and our team, the Orioles, was looking, and acting defeated. They'd lost their momentum. Or had they given it away to the other team? Just like a teeter totter, when one side is up, the other is down.

The same thing happens in business. Maintaining momentum can be tricky. Especially in these turbulent times. Continuing to focus on the positive things working in your organization is critical, especially when outside (or even inside) forces are tearing at the fabric of what makes you great, and ultimately, shifting your momentum, or focus.

Not to go too far with the baseball analogy, but you've got to stay on top of your game, or the momentum shift will become permanent...in the shape of a victory for the other team.

As for the Orioles, the momentum did shift back in their favor. However, it wasn't enough to propel them to their first win. It was a tie, 8-8. As the coach surmised as they took their last round at bat with a tied up score, 'at least we can't lose.' If only we all had that perspective!