Whether or not Mother Nature chooses to acknowledge it, spring is finally here. Aside from rainy days and blooming flowers, spring also marks the start of baseball, and for those who know me well know that it is a very exciting time for me. As I started to mentally prepare myself for the season, I began to think about the many ways baseball relates to nonprofit organizations. Below are a few examples I wanted to share.
Spring Training
Just like baseball players don’t go into the season cold, your new hire shouldn’t be expected to be an expert on his or her first day on the job. There is always a learning curve whenever someone new begins, and there should be a person or multiple people assigned to guiding and training the newest team member.
Pitching, Hitting, and Fielding
Your team could have the best pitcher in the league, but a lack of run support will do nothing to help you win. One component on its own – pitching, hitting, or fielding – can’t win the game alone; all three need to come together. The same is true for associations and chambers: all departments need to work together to achieve success. The silo mentality is not effective; people within an organization need to be able to function with one another.
Fans
I imagine that having support and buy-in from fans is a feeling like no other. The same can be said of having support and buy-in from your members. No team wants to play in an empty stadium, just like no organization wants to lose membership. Listening to your members and fulfilling their needs are vital aspects to sustaining a healthy nonprofit.
Errors are Part of the Game (E6)
As much as we hate to admit it, errors are committed, both in baseball and in real life. Very rarely does a pitcher pitch a perfect game (in fact it’s only happened 23 times), and very rarely are employees perfect. We are all human; the important thing is to learn from the mistake and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. View the error as a learning experience and move on.
An additional lesson that can be applied both inside and outside of the office is to have patience and understanding. Being a New York Mets fan all my life, I’ve certainly had my fair share of both of those!
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