You don't have to swing for the fences, just keep swinging

Most of my posts have to do with corporate culture, communications, employee engagement and their relationship to workplace enjoyment and success. Go figure; I guess that’s what you’d expect from a corporate communicator. Sometimes, though, it feels like Groundhog Day.

In that movie, Bill Murray is weatherman Phil Connors. He’s sent to Punxsutawney to cover the Groundhog Day festivities, but wakes up day after day at the same time doing the same things over and over – covering the festivities, interacting with the same people and so on. After what seems like a hundred repeats of the same day with variations, he realizes that he’s getting these chances to relive the day until he gets it right.

I think maybe that’s why I keep hacking away at it – I want to keep after it until we get it right. “Keep chopping wood” as they say.

As I was watching the World Series this year, it struck me that the San Francisco Giants, like they did in 2010 when they last won the World Series, had something companies can emulate for success: Full buy-in from their employees/players on what it takes to be successful. Good pitching and defense, and making contact at the plate not only served these guys well in the post season, but it was enough to shut down one of the best hitting teams in MLB. (Detroit was third in the AL during the regular season.)

The Giants didn’t have the star power of the Yankees or the Tigers. And while Buster Posey is no slouch, having led the NL in batting average, he’s not a household name like A-Rod, Jeter, Prince or Miguel Cabrera, the Triple Crown winner this year.

But it doesn’t have to be about star power, you just have to have everyone on board with the plan. Marco Scutaro, a nice player who’s had a nice career, was the epitome of the Giants approach at the plate. Scutaro was traded to the Giants at the end of July and in 179 plate appearances he swung and missed only nine times. Nine times! In his 736 plate appearances this season, he swung and missed only 62 times. Wow!

Scutaro was easily the catalyst in the Giants 3-game surge against the Cardinals in the NLCS. Not a home run hitter, Marco-put-it-in-play-Scutaro.

It doesn’t take superstars to achieve your goals, it just takes everyone acting like a team, striving toward the same goals, watching each other’s backs, picking each other up when we fall short and not getting caught up in “what’s in it for me.”

You see, when you get that buy-in, there’s something in it for everyone. A better workplace, goal achievement, happy bosses and career opportunities are all by-products of pulling together for the good of the team.

It’s easy to lose sight of big goals sometimes because we want to have personal successes and be recognized for individual achievements, that’s human nature. But if you’re doing it right – playing as a team – people get the credit they’re due and everyone benefits.

So think about these Giants (and the 2010 team), even if you’re a Dodgers fan, and think about how you can contribute to the organization and the greater good for your teammates. You may even get your own Groundhog Day experience and find success again and again.

The Giants did.

P.S. For more on ways to incorporate Giants culture, check this out.