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<\/a><\/p>\nNine innings includes 54 outs, hundreds of pitches, and dozens of plays. Thinking at the bottom of the first that you don\u2019t have a chance to come from behind is a mistake. One Little League team in our town overcame a 13-point deficit at the bottom of the sixth inning (they play six innings in Little League) to come back and win the game. At the pro level, just a few years ago the Colorado Rockies scored nine runs in the bottom of the 9th to win 12-9 over the St. Louis Cardinals.<\/p>\n
Stories of business comebacks are no less rare or impressive. Target came back from near-obscurity to take on discount retailer Wal-Mart. Apple was almost belly-up when Steve Jobs returned to re-invigorate the company. Vans shoe company was limping along until it became the footwear of choice for a generation of skateboarders. Comebacks happen, even in the ninth inning \u2014 and beyond.<\/p>\n
Of course, the reverse is true. For every comeback kid, there is a losing team. The story of the Rockies\u2019 win could be turned upside-down and told as a cautionary tale of the Cardinals LOSING in the ninth inning. IBM, apparently entrenched as the \u201csafe\u201d choice for computers, couldn\u2019t hold its own and is now a shadow of its previous self. Companies getting too comfortable in their role as market leader are a dime a dozen \u2014 and their stock might be trading for little more than that.<\/p>\n
The lesson for small businesses is obvious: It ain\u2019t over until it\u2019s over. Whether you\u2019re struggling mightily to stay afloat or you think your business is set on auto-pilot, take heed. Anything can happen, and that\u2019s why the game has nine innings. If the outcome was certain, we could all pack up and go home at the bottom of the first.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t become too discouraged by an apparent loss, and don\u2019t become too comfortable with a certain win. A change of pitcher \u2014 or a change in the economy or market conditions \u2014 can work in your favor or against you. A new customer can change the whole game, as can a new competitor. You never know what the other team has up its sleeve.<\/p>\n
Playing all nine is synonymous with doing your best, even when defeat \u2014 or victory \u2014 seems certain. It is the mindset of a winner, who knows that losing an inning, a game, or even a season doesn\u2019t mean much when looking ahead to next \u00a0year.<\/p>\n
Check back tomorrow for Lesson #3!<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
To Your Success!<\/p>\n
Much Love,<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Lesson Number Two: Play All Nine Innings The last lesson taught us the importance of not letting one bad pitch, inning, or game ruin your season. This lesson is an extension of that \u2014 not giving up too soon, and also not getting comfortable in what appears to be an easy win. Nine innings includes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":811,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,166,167,168,169,170,171,172],"class_list":["post-18","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-empower-network","category-this-and-that","tag-auto-pilot","tag-business-lessons","tag-colorado-rockies","tag-comeback-kid","tag-comebacks","tag-dime-a-dozen","tag-discount-retailer","tag-firs","tag-losing-team","tag-nine-innings","tag-ninth-inning","tag-play-six","tag-point-deficit","tag-shoe-company","tag-sixth-inning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/811"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/jenniferlee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jennifer](\"http:\/\/meetjennifer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Jennifer-Sig.png\")
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