In his book, Moneyball, Michael Lewis explores hidden value in the world of baseball by profiling the methodologies of Oakland General Manager Billy Beane. Spinning off the statistical analyses promoted or inspired by the iconoclastic analyst Bill James, Beane puts together winning baseball teams using no-name players with strong defensive skills and high on-base percentages.
In this week’s New York Times Magazine, Lewis is at it again but this time focusing on the use of the same kind of analysis applied to basketball. The article is a profile of the Houston Rockets’ forward, Shane Battier, who, as his general manager puts it, is “a marginal NBA athlete,” with shooting, assists, rebounding and steals statistics ranking at the bottom of the league.
Yet, he is one of the most high-impact players in the game because of his nearly invisible guarding and defensive skills. When Battier is on the court, he helps his team win by forcing the best players in the game to play their worst games. He plays clean and smart, knowing his opponent’s tendencies and playing them into situations where they shoot poorly. Battier’s prevention of points has the same net effect as if he were putting them on his team’s side of the board.
Traditional evaluation of basketball and baseball players means missing opportunities to look inside the game and draw out extra value and fresh insights from what is really happening. We often miss these plain-sight qualities because we are conditioned to focus on the obvious—home runs, points scored, etc.
You knew it was coming—the analogy to business. How much of our current trouble is the result of stubborn adherence to traditional ways of assigning value? What new measures of the game of business might we use instead to make better decisions and create greater long-term value, growth and stability?
In our custom content business we look not only at revenue and profit but the efficiency of each client. We are bound by the scarce resources of time and a finite team of talented writers, editors, designers, and managers. Looking behind the obvious, we’ve discovered that certain clients, while generating strong revenue, consume a disproportionately high share of resources. At the same time, there are other clients whose consumption of resources is disproportionately lower—the sign of efficiency and desirability, and the opportunity for growth.
Thinking deeply about what is really happening in business means going beyond the obvious. And not only in terms of how one analyzes performance, but how one plays the game. To secure a new client, what unique value can you provide to solve a need and generate a “multiplier effect” of subsequent positive impacts?
Who is the Shane Battier in your organization? Who is overlooked and undervalued because he or she isn’t flashy, and yet without their contributions, the organization would be weaker and less effective? Are you using the right measures to evaluate your human capital?
Everything still comes down to results. Where are the hidden efficiencies and talents in your business that, if understood and cultivated, can help you improve and win?
17
Feb
2009
