The Sweet Spot

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We all wish for success, and it’s rarely easy.  During these tight economic times, we’ve all cut back, eliminated, reorganized and revamped.  We’ve been told of a "new reality," but living there has been difficult at best.

When looking for models of success, I often think of being a batter in baseball.  Imagine an activity where success is measured by successful achievement 30 percent of the time in batting average, or perhaps 40 percent of the time if you include on-base percentage (a walk or an error is as good as a hit).  

I was privileged to actually meet one of the greatest hitters of all times, Ted Williams, and I’m on my way to the Cal State Auxiliaries meeting, where several years ago their keynote speaker was an equally gifted hitter, Tony Gwinn.

If you ask those world-class hitters the secret of their success, they say that first you need to understand the strike zone.  You need to constantly gauge where an umpire will call a strike a strike or a ball a ball.  That’s not as easy as it sounds because while there are rules for the strike zone, umpires interpret those rules with some difference. There is the need for constant feedback about where the zone for success will be. But that’s not enough.

The really great hitters interpret that strike zone as it relates to their talent.  Ted Williams would divide the strike zone into nine separate areas.  After years of self-study, he knew that six of those gave him a truly above average opportunity to be successful, and three consistently were NOT his best hitting areas, yet still were within the strike zone.  Tony Gwinn, a great Ted Williams fan, met Williams and found they had very similar systems.  They knew their "sweet spot."

So what did they do? Often they didn’t swing, or swung only to foul a pitch when it was a bad percentage strike. That amazed me when I first heard it. Lose an opportunity for success where the rules said you would be penalized for inactivity, because the odds weren’t for you.  Amazing. And when it was in their "sweet spot"? They enjoyed their very greatest opportunities to use their "sweet spot" to be very successful, for themselves AND their team.

As I think about the applicability for auxiliary service organizations to prosper in this "new reality," I know we need to perform similar analyses. First, we have to understand our strike zone. Where will the mission of your institution as interpreted by students, administrators, the faculty and the community in which you reside allow you to be successful?  That strike zone will differ by institution and even by which group is judging our effort. But NACAS and our auxiliary colleagues must provide a firm knowledge of the parameters of our profession and prepare each professional with the fundamentals for success. We do that through our growing professional development programs and soon through our certification program. You will know and be judged by your understanding of the strike zone for success.

But that’s not enough. You must constantly hone the knowledge of your own hitting zone to know where you and your institution can achieve the greatest likelihood for success. Know yourself, your team, your strengths and shortcomings.  You can only achieve this when you produce a very tough feedback loop that gauges your success. This can be achieved through comparing your operation against others, setting your own goals and objectives and measuring them, providing resources to play to your strengths, and minimizing resources to areas that don’t provide the best support and return on investment of your mission and purpose. In short, know your "sweet spot."

Several years ago I started talking about the change that was necessary for auxiliaries. At that point, the economy was the worse crisis that was upon us. We discussed to "never waste a crisis" and then to prepare for the "new reality."   These all are just noble words unless we do indeed change. It isn’t enough to cut, eliminate, outsource and reorganize.  We will waste this crisis unless we truly examine our strike zone AND identify our "sweet spot."  The "new normal" can be a sullen place, or it can determine your future legacy. If you have the determination, talent, persistence and engage in constant self-evaluation for you and your organization, you can and will be successful, even on our higher education campuses. I believe it is up to you.

Agree or disagree to bob@nacas.org