Herman: John L. Herman Jr., Author

Hope Springs Eternal...Reality is a Better Plan

I will be attending the Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles today and for at least the fiftieth straight year a little hope inside of me says “this is the year we can win it all…” I was at the 4th game of the World Series in 1966 when the O’s beat the Dodgers, and witnessed games in ’69, ’70, ’71, ’79 and ’83. It has been 25 years since the last time the Orioles were World Champions.

But, Hope Springs Eternal.

For the last ten years it has been excruciatingly painful watching the miss-managed Birds produce horrible results. So, why is this year different? Because after ten misguided attempts to run the business in a failing way the owner has finally seen the light and changed completely the way the team is structured. And the Hope we have is not for a win this year but maybe next year or the year after. Because the owner is now taking long range management steps to correct ten years of mistakes.

Look at your project or business today. Are you suffering from wearing blinders to reality and expect success after building a “house of cards” doomed to fail. The Orioles owner has been wearing blinders and maybe a ski mask over that but finally the losing and the booing and the fans staying away in droves has been enough of an embarrassment to force him to rethink his strategy. He is what I call “rich enough to be stupid” a phrase I used many times when working with owners who let ego and stubbornness dictate their actions, and not sound management practices.

First, the Orioles hired a brilliant Baseball General Manager with a great track record of success and then they let HIM make decisions, including releasing one player to whom the team still owed over eleven million dollars. That player was a steroid using “bust” and added nothing to the future, so owing him the money didn’t force the new GM to keep him, cutting the player shows the promise of sound management now being in place.

Enjoy the Euphoria of the Opening Day in your business. Hope for the best and let that happiness make you giddy as you launch that endeavor or start that project. But as the season goes on, manage that business with reality and not hope. If your business needs a “tune-up” to run smoother, face the reality and make sound changes. Today every team is tied for first place. If the Orioles lose today tomorrow they will be tied for Last Place. But in time, the new management style can overcome ten years of stupidity. Maybe you are “rich enough to be stupid” and can afford ten years of losing. Well, even if you can stand that please don’t…it’s bad business.

• Posted: 1 April 2008
• Comments: 0
• Category: Business success

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