If you know me, you know how much I enjoy the game and the business of baseball.

I’m into baseball because of the excitement of the competition, the strategy, the fascinating history, and the leadership lessons that result from paying attention to both the game and the business.

Major League Baseball (MLB) is currently into the second half of its season. That’s when teams make roster changes to either strengthen their team for a playoff run or reduce their overhead and position themselves for the future. MLB leaders are thinking, “What can we do right now?”

Without diminishing the annual strategic planning process many organizations embark on at this time, I offer this strategy planning tip in the spirit of MLB and incremental adjustments.

Leadership Tip
Carefully analyze your business to identify one aspect that, if taken away, makes it better short- or long-term. Next, identify one aspect that, if added or strengthened, helps your business now or in the long run.

Ask these questions to kick-start your thinking:

• Who is the weakest personnel link on your team? Give that person help or replace him/her.
• What product or service do your customers not truly value? Improve it or drop it.
• What position in your organization is redundant? Reorganize to eliminate redundancy.
• What training do your employees need to reach the next level? Provide it for them.
• What activity seems to be slowing you down? Improve it or drop it.
• What activity do you regularly do that doesn’t contribute to your goals? Drop it.
• Who could you spend time with and make a difference in their careers? Find out and do it.

As James Cash Penney, founder of JC Penney, once said, “No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn’t.”

As you ramp up for the home stretch, do something that makes a difference. If you do nothing, you run the risk of your organization not being as strong as it could be.