As Minnesotans, we aren't blessed with great sports teams. The Vikings have lost four Super Bowls. The Wild/North Stars haven't sipped from Lord Stanley's cup. The Timberwolves? They may be one of the worst franchises in the history of professional sports.
But there was a bright spot in the late 80s and early 90s. Led by a short, rotund center fielder uniquely named Kirby, the Twins shocked the world by winning two World Series championships.
Though they've had moderate success since, especially a great run of playoff appearances in the 2000s, they haven't sniffed the World Series since. In fact, over the past four seasons, their best season was an abysmal 70-92 affair. Given that, not much was expected of the team this year, with most experts predicting a slight improvement to 72 or 74 wins.
Barring a horrific collapse, they’re on pace to win around 85 games, a surprising increase given the supposed lack of talent on the team. How did they do it? And more importantly, how can you take mimic their success in your business? Here are four tips to help your field service business get started replicating the Twins success:
A Change in Leadership Might Help
At the end of the 2014 season, the Twins finally decided to make a change. After 13 years as manager, Ron Gardenhire was fired and Minnesota’s own Hall of Fame player, Paul Molitor, was hired to replace him.
If your team is failing to respond, a change in leadership may help. For the Twins, it seemed like many players had begun to tune out Gardenhire. Known as a fiery - yet relaxed - leader, his tactics seemed to work for the Twins young talent when he began his tenure as manager, but as the years wore on, players seemed to start to tune him out.
For your business, it may be time to try new leadership tactics. We implemented the EOS management philosophy as outlined in the book Traction, two years ago, which brought a more structured, goal-oriented approach to our business. Green industry businesses usually add department managers - irrigation, hardscape, maintenance, snow - to their businesses as they grow. If you really want to get innovative, a number of businesses have “flattened” their organizational structure, eliminating a lot of management oversight and giving employees more ownership. That likely isn't a recipe for success in a green industry business, unless you have a motivated, experienced team.
Young Talent Can Change Your Business Overnight
One of the key ingredients to the Twins success was an influx of young, talented players. Miguel Sano gets the headlines, but Eduardo Escobar has quietly had a good season. Byron Buxton has been a liability offensively, but has vastly improved the outfield defense. And Aaron Hicks may have finally turned the corner and is contributing offensively and defensively.
A change in management helped, but talent is the most important part of any business. If you have great, hardworking employees, it's a lot easier to be successful. So be very selective when you hire and try to find employees that can help you grow.
Another tip: if you're hiring millennials, they typically tend to be more interested in learning than money. They want skills that will help them advance in your company - or in their next job. To keep them engaged you need to be constantly giving them new opportunities for professional growth.
Look to Your Organization’s Veterans
When the Twins resigned Torii Hunter this off season, Twins fans were happy, but pundits were not. Hunter was old, a defensive liability, and starting to regress at the plate.
The pundits may have been right; Hunter has been abysmal at the plate recently, but what pundits overlooked was his leadership. He's a great mentor to the young players, instilling them with a winning attitude.
If you want to be successful, you need your veterans to set the right tone. They need to show your younger workers how to work. If they lead by example, you’ll have a stronger organization.
Don’t Forfeit Your Future for Short-Term Success
At the trade deadline, a lot of local writers were pushing the Twins to make a bold move move and grab a seasoned pitcher. Their rationale was that the Twins had a farm system stocked with talent that could help them land a superstar pitcher who could help the team’s playoff push.
But the Twins made a relatively minor move, adding Kevin Jepsen to the bullpen and not giving up any young talent of significance. Will it hurt them this year? Maybe. But long-term, it will only help them. Young players are inexpensive and can help a team with a mid-level payroll contend for years.
In many businesses - especially public ones - short-term success is all that matters. Businesses chase short-term profits without thinking about the long-term consequences.
Don’t make that mistake in your business. Put together a long-term plan. Set an audacious 10-year goal, and then set 3 and 1-year milestones. Then, test your strategy against that 10-year goal. Will your strategy help you achieve your 10-year goal? If not, it’s probably not the best strategy.
Need more tips on how to improve your field service business? Download our free eBook, 33 Stupid Things Contractors Do (And How to Fix Them) today!
