Writing in a Rut? Slow Down to Go Faster

Last month’s post about faster, clearer writing, generated a fair amount of feedback. Several readers asked how to get started when you’re staring at a blank screen or simply dreading the process of “putting pen to paper”?

We get this question often during the Dog Days of summer because everyone’s on vacation, thinking about vacation or about to go on vacation. It’s hot and humid and now we have the looming recession, bear market and rising interest rates to further dampen your enthusiasm for doing anything extra, like being a thought leader.

 

Basketball legend, Julius Erving (aka Dr. J), once said: “Being a professional is doing the thing you love to do on the days you don’t feel like doing it.” I know what you’re thinking. You don’t love writing. But you’re a professional. Sooner or later you’ll have to publish something under you own name for your clients, staff, prospects or industry peers. So, yeah, you’re a writer.

 

Don’t beat yourself up

 

I bring this up because this up because late summer is when my own creative juices aren’t flowing like they normally do. Outside of the office my workouts and race results are also slower than at any other time of year. Projects around my office and my house tend to get delayed if not ignored.

Acknowledge that these speed bumps in your productivity are seasonal, not permanent. Most of us don’t have the luxury of folding up the tent until Labor Day when full energy resumes. Instead, slow down and set reasonable seasonal-adjusted goals during the Dog Days of August so you can hit the ground running in September.

·         If you normally call 10 prospects a month, cut back to five or six, but make those calls impactful.

·         If your firm normally does four blog posts a month, dial that back to two or three, but spend the time to make them poignant.

·         If you normally fly two or three times a month to see clients, maybe cut that back to once a month and fold a vacation into the trip.

Tips for slowing down to speed up

1. What are you really trying to say? Before you write Word One, ask yourself: “What is the single most important thing I want to get across to my audience?” Ask yourself that question out loud and when you have the answer, dictate the answer on your voice recorder or write it down on a white board for everyone to see. This makes the messaging real and you might want to revise it before blasting it out for public consumption.

2. Don’t let your keyboard get in the way. Just tell a story by using any “thought-capturing” means you prefer. Some of you are more comfortable with a legal pad and a pencil than with a computer screen, especially when you can go outside and compose your thoughts to “write” on a favorite deck chair or hammock. The key is to slow down and find a quiet place to think.

3. If you can say it you can do it. A few of you are natural writers, but many of you are more comfortable dictating into a voice recorder while stuck in traffic. Some of you are great presenters and PowerPoint whizzes, but freeze up at the site of a blank computer screen. If so, try recording yourself on video, or having a colleague or close family member record you. One of our clients “dictated” two entire books to us using nothing but his best slide presentations and lecture notes.

The key is to slow down, compose your thoughts and tell your story in your natural voice so it comes through loud and clear.

Most of you are established professionals and thought leaders. You have a great personal story to share and it’s probably more interesting than you think. But if you don’t sound like you believe your own story when you tell it, then how do you expect your readers and followers to buy it?

Still not convinced it’s worth slowing down? Well, a Harvard Business Review study of over 300 businesses showed that companies that took adequate time for deliberation and planning averaged 40% higher sales and 52% higher operating profits over a three-year period.

I’d love to tell you we have “6 Easy Steps” or a magic formula for making the writing process easier. We don’t. It’s a personal battle between you and your subconscious. To win that battle you have to slow down, be brutally honest with yourself and go back to basics. Get crystal clear about what you’re trying to convey to your audience and how can they use it in their day-to-day lives?

As always, we’re here to help.

Conclusion

Here’s more about busting through writer’s block and procrastination. As French philosopher Voltaire famously said, “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.” Just take your time and be prepared to revise, revise and revise. Still not sure what to write about?  .Ping me any time. I’m happy to help.

#effectivewriting, #thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement

Consistency is not boring

On more than one occasion, my wife has accused me of being the most boring man in America.

I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. I drink the same brand of beer every night. I wear the same five outfits to work (one for each day of the week). I’ve worn the same brand of running shoes for 30 years. I feed my dog the same thing every morning and night, including the people food she mooches from me.

 

I’m not comparing myself to Steve Jobs, but there’s a reason he always wore the same black turtleneck, jeans and sneakers every day. Work attire was one less decision he had to make and he felt he ought to project a consistent brand image for his own personal identity. It was also part of Jobs’ daily routine for getting hyper-focused so he could get out there and change the world.

 

As a distance runner and triathlete most of my life, consistency has been a key to my identity. One foot in front of the other. Get your workout in whether it’s raining, snowing or broiling hot. Don’t let flight delays or work demands get in the way. Never skip workouts unless seriously ill or injured.

 

Legendary track coach Art Gulden used to bark at as in college: “Anyone can run fast when they’re feeling good. We’re going to teach you {expletives} how to fun fast when you feel like crap.”

That philosophy got me through four separate startup companies and several tours of duty in high-pressure newsrooms.

 

As many of you know, we have regular Gut Check™ accountability calls with our clients at the same day and time every week. The calls only last about 20 minutes, but they go a long way toward making sure nothing slips through the cracks and they ensure that clients (and we) are following through on their respective deliverables.

Clients who make at least 75% of their weekly Gut Check™ calls, have a 10X higher likelihood of a successful engagement with us than clients who make 50% or less – or who constantly reschedule. Clients who post or publish on a consistent basis (weekly, biweekly, monthly) tend to get more views, shares and client leads from their content than clients who post or publish sporadically.

 

NFL quarterback Russell Wilson says: “don’t get bored with consistency. Basketball legend Julius Erving (aka Dr. J) liked to say: “Being a professional is doing the things you love to do; on the days you don't feel like doing them.”

 

Hmmmm.

 

Motivational speaker Rob Cressy, said the most successful people he knows, have three traits in common (video):

1. They’re committed to excellence; they show up every day and get the work done.

2. They do same thing (very well) over and over and over again.

3. They cherish their morning routine (reading, meditating, visualizing and journaling, working out and practicing gratitude). Same thing every morning. Day after day. Year after year.

 

According to Cressy, consistency I snot sexy. “The results don’t show up immediately, but you’re planting seeds for the harvest.” In his book The Power of Consistency Weldon Long argues that you need to remind yourself constantly about what you want and what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s about getting deeply emotionally committed to the plan and taking consistent action toward implementing the plan for improved performance.

 

The Dog Days of summer are here. Everyone seems to be on vacation, about to go on vacation, or recovering from vacation. It's easy to lose your focus when the temperature’s up and OOO (Out of Office) replies are dominating your inbox. DON’T.

 

Now’s the time to hit the ground running when your rivals have checked out and are asleep at the beach. Winners know they can’t wait for ALD (After Labor Day) to get back on track, because by then, the train has already left the station.

 

“Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” -- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

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#contentmarketing, #thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement

Keys to Faster, Clearer Writing

Mark Twain once said, “I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.”

One of the biggest challenges for successful professionals is not coming across as the smartest kid in the class. When asked to do a presentation, author a guest column or write a forward to a colleague’s book, it’s natural to feel you must do a brain dump of everything you know about a topic. But true thought leaders don’t force their audience to drink through a firehose. They know less is more and they choose their words wisely.

 

True thought leaders give their audience a taste of their knowledge and expertise, without giving away the secret sauce. By doing so, they establish their credibility and share just enough insight to whet the reader’s appetite for a follow-up Zoom call, meeting or consultation to get more information.

 

I know, more easily said than done.

 

I hate writing. How do I get faster, more efficient with the written word? Grammarly and other AI writing tools are a start. So are the editing tools built into Office for Windows 10.0 and higher. They’ll definitely help you minimize spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. You can also experiment with talk-to-text apps. But those tools won’t help you retrain your brain for clearer, more concise thinking.

8 steps for faster, more efficient writing

1. Create an outline. You wouldn’t build a house without blueprints, would you? You wouldn’t invest a client’s money without having a plan in place or knowing their risk tolerance, would you? So, why are you trying to write without an outline? I’m not your high school English teacher. Forget the Roman numerals. Here’s all you need in your outline:

a. 3 Takeaways you want readers/listeners to get after spending time with your words?
b. Introduce the problem/challenge and why it’s so important today.
c. Explain how you’ll solve the problem/challenge and what the results of that solution will be.
d. Summarize what you’ve just shared with the reader/listener and share a real-world example if possible, to bring the concept to life. Remind them of the Takeaways.

Consider drafting your outline and early drafts in PowerPoint. It forces you to be brief, concise and bullet-point oriented.

2. Get rid of distractions. Close your browser windows, email programs, and chat apps. Unplug your computer or even your router. Turn your phone to silent and place it out of view. Even if only for an hour or two at a time, do whatever it takes to nurture a healthy writing habit.

3. Use “TK” placeholders. Even if you’ve filled your outline with well-researched points, writing will take you places you never thought you’d go. If you stop your flow to look up a fact or idea, you risk wasting time going down research rabbit holes. Instead, use a placeholder like “TK” (which journalists call “to come”) and replace it when you’re done writing.

4. Don’t Be a Perfectionist. Ernest Hemingway once said: “write drunk, edit sober.” You don’t need to be an alcoholic to produce content to adopt Hemingway’s writing philosophy. Don’t be so tough on yourself. We continuously correct what we’re about to say before we put the words on the page. This is what Hemingway meant by writing drunk. During the drafting phase, just get your main point down on the page. There’s plenty of time for spit and polishing later.

5. Find your best time to write. Improving your writing speed and efficiency often comes down to knowing your own biology or psychology. You may be an early riser who writes better and faster in the morning. Maybe you’re a high nooner or you may be a night owl whose mind feels most fluid in the wee hours. Experiment to find out the best time of day for you to write and make “writing appointments” with yourself to shape your content then.

6. Walk away. Once you’ve finished your draft, walk away for several hours or several days. Don’t even think about your content piece let alone sneak in any tweaks. Only after walking away can you edit with a fresh set of eyes and ears. What seemed so brilliant in the morning is not ready for prime time when you come back to it. Don’t worry. It’s all part of the process. Your first draft is supposed to suck.

7. Read your work out loud. Better yet, dictate it into your smartphone voice recorder and play it back. You may not like what you sound like, but this technique will prevent from straying.

8. Learn from the best. Spend a little time this summer re-reading your favorite authors. It doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or non-fiction. Notice how they set the scene, draw you in, and the cadence they use to convey their thoughts. Most have great editors to make them look good, but somewhere along the line, they mastered the craft of writing.

As Nietzche liked to say: “It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.”
Conclusion

Conclusion

Being your own critic is tough, but no one knows you better than you. As with any exercise routine, consistency is the key to better writing and you need to get comfortable being a little comfortable. That’s the only way to get better, faster and more confident.

For more, see my recent posts Stop Clearing Your Throat When You Write and Keys to Writing Faster.

 

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

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Financial Literacy Month Should Last 365 Days

April and National Financial Literacy Month are in the rearview mirror. But that doesn’t we should take our feet off the gas pedal when it comes to addressing the nation’s financial literacy epidemic. According to our annual CPA/Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey, just one-third of financial advisors (38%) believe America’s financial awareness has improved in the two years since COVID surfaced – and they’re particularly worried about the lack of money skills among Millennials and Gen Z.

“One positive that came out of the pandemic is the spotlight on personal finance as an important lifelong skill for everyone,” said respondent Marie Burns a financial advocate. “Now more states than ever are proposing legislation to teach financial literacy in schools.” Once again, our survey respondents felt K-12 schools could make a bigger impact on America’s financial literacy than any other institution in our society.

But who knows how to teach financial literacy?

As a result of the school system’s lack of modernization, survey co-author Valentino Sabuco, Executive Director of The Financial Awareness Foundation, said experts who teach financial literacy are few and far between. “Many teachers unfortunately lack the knowledge themselves on financial literacy,” said Sabuco. “They are ill prepared to teach it to the next generation of students. For those that say they are teaching personal finance, we ask them: ‘Are your materials up to date? Are you touching all the bases?” More often than not, the answer is NO, lamented Sabuco. 

Jim Stovall, motivational speaker and author of Millionaire Map told us that there is more information than ever about financial awareness, but we are bombarded with confusing, mixed messages as not all information is accurate and valid. “It’s not a matter of getting information, it’s a matter of getting the right information,” said Stovall.

According to Sabuco, many educators believe financial literacy only deals with savings, budgeting and debt management. They don’t address ways to help students get and stay organized, establish personal and financial goals, save for college or plan for other major expenditures such as cars and house down-payments. “So how do financially illiterate teachers successfully teach personal finance to students?” asked Sabuco.

Dr. Guy Baker, CFP, Ph. D, founder of Wealth Teams Alliance in Irvine, California told me quite simply that most Americans are financially illiterate. “A home economics course should be a core class for high schoolers,” said Baker. “It needs to teach students how to bank, how to save, how to invest and how to use a credit card.” Baker said it should teach them about buying a home vs. renting, buying a car. In other words, “All of the essentials responsibilities that are required to live a productive life.”

Dr. Christopher Sparks, Ph. D, of Academic Investment Management thinks there may be too many constraints on public schools to teach financial literacy effectively and that colleges and universities, may be better equipped. He’d also like to see financial advisors more involved with teaching financial literacy to the masses, but they tend to target those with significant investable assets. “Those who don’t have much to invest are largely ignored,” Sparks observed.

The simple answer to this complex question, said Sabuco, is to provide our youth with the “necessary life skills and problem-solving skills to have the best chance of living a successful life, without outliving their wealth.”

Many of these topics, said Sabuco, are built around the financial elements identified on The FA Infinity Lifelong Learning Symbol shown below:   

“If all the allied professions (attorneys, CPAs, financial planners, insurance consultants, etc.) took a collaborative and holistic approach, consumers would hear a similar message from several different perspectives and would be more likely to hear the message and act on it,” said attorney Martin M. Shenkman.

Lionel Shipman, a financial and life empowerment professional, told us that financial literacy education should start as early as elementary school. “As children continue their education through middle and high school, their knowledge and experience of financial literacy skills can be broadened and strengthen, preparing them to succeed financially in adulthood,” added Shipman. Ryan Vogel, CFP, Partner, Chief Planning Officer, Novi Wealth in Princeton, New Jersey, agreed. Even among schools that do have financial literacy requirements, Vogel said teaching good lifelong money habits should be part of ongoing curriculum, not a one-off required course like health or driver’s ed.

 “In addition to teaching it in high school, there should be a more basic version taught in middle school and some type of financial literacy curriculum in 4th or 5th grade to get them started on the right path,” suggested Vogel.

Conclusion

Bottom line: Everyone from early childhood educators to high schools and university instructors, financial advisors, spiritual advisors and most importantly, parents setting a good example for their children, need to do their part. “We must change the system to help all children from a very young age to develop the financial literacy skill so that it will be part of their lifelong DNA,” said survey respondent Elena Zee, President & CEO Arizona Council of Economic Education (ACEE). Curing the financial illiteracy epidemic in this country takes a village. Are you willing to step up?

 

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

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TAGS: #financialliteracy, #financialawareness, #financialeducation, #smartmoney

Key Takeaways: Don’t Publish or Post Without ‘Em

Follow the sniff, sip and gulp model

In today’s time-pressed society, you only have a split second to convince someone to read what you have to say. After quickly scanning the headline and subhead, a reader may take a quick glance to see who the author is and then make a snap judgement to do one of three things:

1. Drop everything and read immediately.

2. Save for nighttime/weekend reading.

3. Ignore/Delete.

 

By including three or four summary bullet points at the top of your content – from blog posts and articles to white papers and podcast transcripts -- you’ll greatly increase the odds they’ll take Action #1 or Action #2 above.

 

Whether you call them Key Takeaways, Hot Takes, Key Learnings, Summary Bullets or simply Takeaways, those hardworking bullet points at the top of your content should provide readers with an instant summary of what they will learn if they invest the time to engage with your words that follow.

 

Not sure what to include in your bullets? Think of bullets as mini headlines that outline the most valuable things a reader will take with them after reading your piece. Is it a better way of doing something in the career or their life? Debunking a popular belief? Learning something new that most people don’t know. Deconstructing something complex and making it simple? Whatever your objective, the Key Takeaways should be brief, actionable and accurate.

 

How long should Key Takeaways be? No more than two lines long. Preferable no more than 144 characters which is about 20-30 words max (more on that in a minute). Use action verbs whenever possible. This condensed format forces you to remove the fluff and get right to the point. Here are some good examples from our clients’ work (click on hyperlinks to see Key Takeaways in live content):

·        At Times Like These, You Have More Control Than You Think

·        What Nonpublic Companies Need to Know About Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

·        What March Madness Brackets Teach Us About Investing Mistakes

 

The thing that’s great about restricting yourself to 144 characters is that you can create a tweet or post out of each bullet with a link to the full piece. Several of our clients have been “Tweetables” regularly such as this example and this one.

 

I have so much great material, it’s hard to pick three bullets. Hopefully you created an outline before you started the writing process. The skeleton of your outline can easily be turned into Key Takeaways. If you still having trouble distilling your content piece into a few concise bullet points, that’s a sign that you may be rambling, or perhaps are trying to cover too much in a single post, article, bulletin. It might be time to go back to the editing room or consider breaking your piece into Part 1 and Part 2 before making it live.

 

Sniff. Sip. Gulp. If you can’t provide the reader with a quick mini tour of your work, there’s a good chance you’ll lose them enroute to the finish line. As Investment Company Institute’s George Breeden, CAE once said in a presentation I attended, follow the “Sniff, Sip and Gulp” model.  First give the reader a sniff of your content (Headline). If they’re intrigued, then let them sip a brief sampling sip of what’s inside (Key Takeaways). Only after you’ve passed the reader’s sniff and sip test, should you hit them with the full gulp of content. Forcing them to gulp before they’ve have had a chance to sniff and sip, is overwhelming. When readers feel overwhelmed with information, their gag reflex is to hit the delete key and walk away.

 

Don’t play click bait game. Another disturbing trend I’ve seen is the use of provocative words or phrases within subject lines, headlines, even Key Takeaways in order to grab the reader’s attention. DON’T use “sex positions” or “salary survey” or “Kardashian” or “Musk” unless your content really is about those topics. If you do, be ready for the backlash.

 

Conclusion

Do yourself and your readers a favor. Respect their time. Summarize accurately. Highlight the three or four most valuable things readers will gain if they invest their valuable time with your words. If you do, they’ll be happy to post comments, share on their social channels, and keep coming back for more. They may even become clients.

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

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#KeyTakeaways, #SummaryBullets, #ContentMarketing

March Madness Confirms Humans Don’t Add Much Alpha

First let me tell you why I love the annual NCAA men’s Division I basketball tournament (aka March Madness). It’s the ultimate reality show. Where else can little known universities such as St. Peters, Loyola of Chicago, Murray State, Weber State, Florida Gulf Coast and Valparaiso suddenly jump into the national limelight with upset wins over perennial powerhouses.

If you don’t think March Madness success has much to do with a school’s brand recognition or athletic recruiting, think again. I know it’s hard to believe but 20 years ago, no one outside of eastern Washington had heard of Gonzaga University. Now the Zags are a national powerhouse. In fact, they’re the No.1 ranked team in the entire country ahead of Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina and all the Big Ten universities.

Don’t think that helps a school’s brand? Since 1999 applications to Gonzaga have increased 300 percent and enrollment has increased by  more than 86 percent. Hmm.

This year’s “Cinderella” team has been tiny St. Peter’s University of Jersey City, NJ (undergrad enrollment 2,200), The Peacocks upset mighty Kentucky (31,000 undergraduates) in the first round and then defeated former Cinderella Murray State in the second round to remain one of only 16 teams left in the tournament. Only 1.5 percent of brackets had the “Peacocks” advancing to the “Sweet 16.” St. Peters head coach Shaheen Holloway earns a fraction of what the lowest paid assistant in the Kentucky program earns.

What’s not to like?

St. Peter’s president, Eugene Cornacchia, told the North Jersey media “For our whole community, this is a seminal moment in our history. We can’t put $8-10 million into the (basketball) program,” [referring to Kentucky?] “but nonetheless you see what we can do if you have a great coach and players who are hard-working and committed. This is truly a miracle story.”

Not only did the St. Peters website crash after the win over Kentucky, but Cornacchia said the school has already seen increased applications from students. “There’s just been an outpouring of media attention across the country that has been unbelievable. Now I know why they call it March Madness… We’ve been hearing from people around the country about our T-shirts. We ran out real fast.”

Bracketology is not an exact science

Feel good stories aside, I love filling out the tournament brackets as do 20 million other sports fans, office workers, lodge buddies, fraternity brothers and millions of other people who never watch college hoops the rest of the year. Filling out brackets can be great for office morale, despite the drop in productivity. Plus, the tourney is a great reality show. It’s got heroes and villains, alliances and backstabbing. There’s no best of seven. It’s single-elimination win or go home. Just pick which team you think will win each game and each round. It couldn’t be easier. But it’s not -- at least for humans.

There’s no shortage of information to make an informed decision and you don’t have to be an “accredited” gambler to play. It’s almost impossible NOT to find a free printable bracket on the web. You get the official NCAA seeding number for each team (ranked 1 through 16). You get their season record. The Vegas odds for each game are everywhere on the web. You can even get injury reports, stats for each player, and each team’s national ranking on two-dozen common metrics. It’s all publicly available and free of charge.

Yet nobody – NOBODY -- seems able to fill out a perfect or even near-perfect bracket. This year, not a single one of the 20 million brackets filled out on the Yahoo, Capital One or CBS Sportline bracket challenges were correct after the first two rounds of the tournament. In fact, only one of the 20 million brackets had even 15 of the remaining “Sweet 16” correct and only .001 percent had even 14 out of 16 teams remaining.

As with stock picking, humans are just lousy identifiers of winners, even when you have a wealth of information, years of experience and high-powered computers at your disposal. Here’s another dirty secret. Despite all the upsets every year, you can do darn well just by picking the favored teams (i.e., the higher seeded ones). It’s like investing in index funds – unmanaged and emotion-free.

You’ll consistently finish in the 75^th percentile of your office pool just by picking the large cap favorites. This year that unmanaged “set it and forget it” strategy would put you in the 91^st percentile as we enter the Sweet 16. Sure, you need a few low-ranked small caps and under-valued “value picks” to score some bonus points in the early rounds, but by the time we got to the Elite 8 and Final Four, the big boys tend to rise to the top.

Going back to 1985, #1 Seeds have won the national title about two-thirds of the time (23 out of 36). That’s more than all the other seeds combined. Teams seeded #2 have won the title five times, #3 seeds have won four times and then just a smattering of one-offs for the remaining years. No team seeded 9^th or lower has ever won the tournament.

So how much alpha are human bracketologists adding? Not much. Just like active managers. That’s what makes March Madness fun – especially for behavioral finance observers like me. Just don’t put real money into your March Madness wagers.

Conclusion

Even with perfect information and a level playing field, humans just can’t override their emotions when it comes to March Madness. Same goes for the markets. I’m okay with that and so is my wallet.

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

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#marchmadness, #bracketology, #stockpicking, #ncaabasketball, #StPeters

Baseball: The National Past (It’s) Time

With all the problems in the world today, the last thing we need are billionaire team owners squabbling with millionaire ballplayers over money. With Opening Day and the first week of the Major League Baseball season canceled, fans and viewers may not return if and when the owner-player dispute is settled.

With a “minimum wage” of $700,000, the lowest paid Major League ballplayer earns more than 12x what the average American household makes in a year. And that’s for a six month a year job that includes free healthcare, first class travel, generous per diem and a pension. Not good enough the player’s union says.

The owners meanwhile have long enjoyed a special anti-trust exemption from the U.S. government that allows them to collude on wages, territorial monopolies and TV rights etc. under the guise of “competitive” balance. They can also force municipal taxpayers to build them new ballparks or else threaten to take their franchise elsewhere. With these good ole boy provisions in hand, the average Major League Baseball franchise has nearly quadrupled in value over the past 10 year to over $1.9 billion. Not good enough say the owners.

Meanwhile, both sides couldn’t care less about the stadium ushers, locker room staff, food vendors, security guards and parking lot attendants who will be losing their paychecks as the lockout continues. Unlike the wealthy players and owners, those folks can’t afford to skip a year of work and still hope to make ends meet.

Three strikes, you’re out

Baseball’s No.1 job right now is to give us something to cheer about as COVID, war in Eastern Europe, sky high inflation, and a host of other worries test the resolve of even the most optimistic among us. STRIKE ONE! Baseball’s secondary job is to give us a sense of normalcy in an increasingly volatile and unstable world. STRIKE TWO! Job No.3 is to give those of us in the frigid Northeast and Midwest a sense of hope for springtime and a respite from sky high energy prices and Artic temperatures. STRIKE THREE!

Ring ‘em MLB. Yer’ outta here!

Hubris

For almost a century, baseball was America’s game (aka. “The National Pastime). Despite dwindling attendance, declining youth participation, evaporating minority representation and drug scandals, Major League Baseball continues its entitled ways like a petulant child told it can’t have ice cream right before dinner. The ancient Romans took the survival of their empire and republic for granted. They over-expanded and lost control of the wheel as infighting and hungrier global challengers knocked them off their pedestal. It was a sharp and painful fall. Sound familiar?

Clearly football and basketball have supplanted baseball as America’s past-times at both the professional and collegiate level. And if the owners and commissioner aren’t careful, Major League Soccer – which plays approximately the same March through October schedule -- while leave MLB in its dust as well. Soccer has clearly won the youth participation battle, so it’s only a matter of time.

Speaking of attendance, here are two stats that caught my eye:

Average Attendance 2021

• Major League Baseball: 18,900
• Major League Soccer: 15,158
  
  

• Atlanta Braves (2021 World Series champions) 29,490
• Atlanta United (Major League Soccer):  43,964

What owners, players and commissioners need to understand is that their days are numbered if they want to remain relevant. While soccer is considered the No.1 spectator sport in the world, it is not considered among the four major U.S. sports leagues (yet).

Personally, I’ll miss baseball for a number of reasons:

• Rebirth and renewal. Spring training means another frigid winter in the Northeast or Midwest is fast approaching. Every team has a .500 record and unlimited upside potential.
• In the blood. I played the game reasonably well growing up. My dad played. My father-in-law played. My brothers in law all played. Both my sons played, including my youngest who is still playing in college.
• Community fabric. Our hometown (population 80,000) has sent over half a dozen residents to the Major Leagues. The town’s two high schools finished first and fourth in the statewide baseball tournament last spring, and its youth teams routinely make it to the state, regional and national finals.
• Memories. I still remember my dad taking to my first game at Philadelphia’s crumbling Connie Mack Stadium. Phillies vs. Mets doubleheader. It was the greenest grass, whitest chalk lines and tastiest hot dogs I had ever experienced. Later I was an assistant coach for my son’s Little League team that won the state championship and came within one out of winning the New England Regional. What a ride! More than half of those kids are now playing in college.
• Leisurely pace. In this fast-paced frenetic world, I enjoy having a game on in the background. The players, not the clock, dictate the pace. Players wait patiently for their turn at bat. New pitchers and pinch hitters have all the time they need to warm up properly. The game ends when the game ends.

Let’s face it, even in the best of times, only five or six teams have a reasonable chance of making it to the World Series. The other two dozen teams are grinding through a way-too-long 162 game schedule. They’re  going through the motions, entertaining the fans, being role models for the kids and trying to figure out how to rebuild. As entertainers and role models, MLB is failing miserable at a time when we could sure use a distraction.

Conclusion

Without spring training and opening day, I’ll enjoy March Madness college basketball, the NBA and NHL playoffs into June, catch a few soccer games in July and before you know it, it will be late summer, time for NFL training camp and the college football season. Baseball, it’s been a wonderful 40 years together. But I think we all know it’s time to move on. You’ve betrayed too many times.

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

 

#baseball, #MLB, #baseballlockout