The lesson in the Oriole success

    

        No matter what happens to the Baltimore Orioles in the postseason there is a lesson that can be applied to any organization or business.  The lesson is that change is inevitable and those that don't adapt and change will cease to survive.  There are so many examples of this.  Kodak is probably the best example. After dominating the film industry for decades their slow response to digital photography brought on their death as a company.

     With baseball, the traditionalists used the old methods of evaluating player potential that was very subjective.   With computers and algorithms, there was a new more sophisticated, and objective way to evaluate player potential.  The Oakland A's were the first to use this method and it was written about in the book and movie Moneyball.   The method was then used with the Houston Astros and now with the Orioles.

     Another way of looking at this reality is to recognize that organizations that only look at short-term internal operations will never see the changes that are developing outside the organization that will be a threat to them in the future.  Look for the changes or get ready to be replaced.