I just spent a week in Cooperstown, NY, the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. No, I did not achieve my childhood dream of being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame — I was there to watch my 12 year old play baseball at the Cooperstown Dreams Park.
Cooperstown Dreams Park provides the opportunity for tens of thousands of 12-year-old boys to play baseball in the town where the game was born. What’s more they get to spend a couple hours in the hall of fame dreaming about how one day they’ll have a plaque on the wall. I can guarantee you that every boy (and the handful of girls) who plays in Cooperstown feels like a real major leaguer while they are there.
So why am I writing about this other than it was a really cool father/son experience? Well, my trip to Cooperstown got me thinking. Do we do enough in our businesses to recognize — no, celebrate — our people and their accomplishments? Do we do enough to document the history of our companies and the progress we’ve made over the years? In a day and age when last quarter’s results and “what have you done for me lately” dominate the conversation, do we overlook or take for granted some of the best of what we do?
Here are a few ideas that I had while visiting baseball’s Mecca.
Celebrate the accomplishments of your stars. The hall of fame promotes the game and its heroes. We all should do that in our businesses. In a culture obsessed with business metrics, we certainly should have our own equivalents of home runs, hits, stolen bases, ERAs, etc. Why not document the best of the best and keep those records. Honor those who set new highs for your business. Make it an honor for someone to be inducted into your company’s hall of fame.
Don’t forget the past. The hall of fame provides a wonderful historic review of the game. It provides a touchstone for those of us to whom the game is important. We can see some of how the game has developed over the years. Seeing the equipment the players used 100 — or even 50 — years ago reminds us of how far we’ve come. Doing the same in your company can have the same impact. Show how your products or services have changed. Remind your employees what your product sold for in 1963. Demonstrate the advances you’ve made in design, safety, or manufacturing.
And the reminders don’t have to be all sunshine and roses. Segregated baseball isn’t something to be proud of, but it’s there in the hall of fame. How the game was integrated by greats such as Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Roy Campanella, and Ernie Banks. And the hall underscores how quickly these African-American ballplayers, once given the chance, were able to rise to the top of the league. Keeping track of your company’s history, good and bad, allows others to learn from past mistakes and reminds them of how far you’ve come.
Make everyone feel like a major leaguer. By week’s end you would have thought my son was Derek Jeter. He had the world by the tail. Of course, he’d just spent a week doing something he loves, but it was more than that. He was treated like a star by the folks at Cooperstown Dreams Park. He received two uniforms for the week. He got a warm-up jacket. He even left with the park’s own version of a World Series ring!
There’s a lesson in this for all of us. Our people are crucial to our businesses. They are special and deserve to feel that way. Going out of your way to make sure that every employee knows he or she is valued is important. Having employees who understand they are important to your company’s success is critical. Communicate to them how important they are, and pretty soon they’ll be walking around with heads held high, willing to take on the world because they know you appreciate it.
Cooperstown, NY, provided a great reminder to me about what’s important in business and in life. Knowing where you come from and recognizing those who will help you get where you are going are critical elements to anyone’s success.