Since it's "Hit 'em Where They Ain't Week," it was only natural that this Wednesday's Change Your Character exercise focuses on Wee Willie Keeler.

Wee Willie Keeler was a great baseball hitter in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and at 140 pounds and maybe 5 feet, 4 inches, one of the smallest players ever in professional baseball. Beyond his impressive performance (lots of hits, hitting & bunting in unusual ways, rarely striking out, hitting sacrifices to advance runners, being part of five championship-winning teams, etc.), he is best known for his success mantra, “Hit ‘em where they ain’t.”

Keeler is certainly a great example of someone small making the most effective use of resources and talents to beat much larger and more substantial competitors. His approach to baseball can be a great help when you need to succeed against bigger competitors. Go ahead and delegate your challenges to him as he:

  • Focuses on being more productive
  • Does things to be able to perform more consistently
  • Takes steps to rarely fail (or at least less than his competitors)
  • Takes advantages of competitors’ weaknesses and gaps
  • Concentrates on how he could help others advance to help his team win
  • Embracing an unconventional & hard to defend against approach to execute his role
  • Uses a smaller asset (in this case, a bat) than was thought practical
  • Helps the team succeed as a collective group

So figure out where your competitors are positioned, take a practice swing or two, and smack the ball right between them to advance your brand teammates!

Check out a compilation of "Change Your Character" creative thinking exercises and information on its use.  – Mike Brown

 

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