High Performance in the Margins
Author Michael Lewis published a book in 2003 called Moneyball, about the MLB’s Oakland Athletics’ process to find baseball players and strategies using new methods. The A’s had less money to spend on players and so its management, out of necessity, set about rethinking the game of baseball.
The story is well documented by book and movie; however, the disruption to thinking has been an ever-evolving story. We realized that is a highly publicized business (Major League Baseball) could be misunderstood by their market, who couldn’t be? If the talent identification process of baseball was inefficient, what market could not be?
In the high stakes process of High Performance Planning in athletics we need to allow ourselves to consistently ‘challenge the process’.
In my role at Butler and as a Consultant to various sports organizations I am awash with preconceived and established bias towards talent and performance.
In the Margins
I am of the belief that ‘it all matters’ in developing a high performance model and reaping the best of success given the talent acquired.
High Performance is the identification of talent supported by the implementation of systematic programming which develops talent and maximizes potential".
I reflect often on this definition of high performance. It is a guiding mantra for me as I set budgets, evaluate programs and advise coaches and organizations.
There is no denial from me that talent is the foundation of results for an individual, coach, team, organization. Yet Finbarr Kirwan, Chief of Olympic Sport for the USOPC told me “it all matters” when I discussed elements of athlete development. I believe we can benefit if we consistently evaluate and challenge our bias towards programming and resources.
What do I mean by this focus on challenging my bias? We can learn from our experience such as Olympic runner Amy Begley Yoder quoted from her section of How She Did It a compilation of athlete stories by authors Molly Huddle and Sara Slattery.
If I could go back to when I was younger, I would pay more attention to things like form drills and speed drills. I would work more on the fundamentals instead of just mileage and workouts. I would have raced a wider variety of distances. Amy Begley Yoder, 2008 Olympian, 2009 World Champion
Determination of what is the main focus of athlete development and organization development in a high performance process is challenging. I approach some of my process by leveling the table that every athlete is equal. If they are equally talented, what makes the difference? I believe the difference is in the margins.
Margin Menu
My inbox is populated with products ranging from sleep garments to supplementations to nutrition to data analytics management. I believe in it all because if properly utilized it can make a marginal difference.
The great challenge in utilization of margin products is not money, it is the appropriate implementation and measure of outcomes. The greatest challenge is our mental bias to the benefit of the widget.
I challenge you to evaluate your bias. How do you receive information and how do you respond? Remember Moneyball and how a shift in thinking changed a 200 year old game.
