I’m no baseball fan. I could never really get into the sport.
I only went to games when I could get cheap tickets and go hang out with my buddies.
However, it’s timely to mention baseball because of the World Series with the Dodgers winning in five games against the Yankees. The history of each franchise and the star power of Ohtani and Judge created much hype.
What’s interesting for me are the post-series headlines.
Namely, that the Dodgers fully believed that the Yankees were “Talent Over Fundamentals.”
In fact, the Yankees were considered to be “fundamentally deficient” throughout the season. Not very good at fielding and poor base running.
And, all of it was on display in the final game.
Speaking of fundamentally deficient, Boeing and Starbucks are also making headlines.
Each of their new CEO’s are talking about how each company needs to go back to their respective basics and corporate roots.
In the case of Boeing, their engineering prowess is their core. CEO Kelly Ortberg says “We will stay true to our roots and the values that defined our legacy.”
For Starbucks, it’s about being the community coffeehouse again. CEO Brian Niccol says Starbucks is strong when “we stay true to our core identity.”
So, that got me thinking about the phrase “Back to Basics.”
Because, if the basics are that good, why would you ever drift from them? Why the need to go make the laborious journey back to them?
How about avoiding the negative press, internal tumult and layoffs?
…and instead, just be basic.
Maybe it’s because sticking to the basics takes effort and discipline.
It isn’t very “sexy” to stick to basics, but getting away from them ends up being costly.
In the case of Boeing, short-term profits were pushed ahead of making the best planes. Executives admitted that for years they wanted to quickly push planes through production. Their focus on short-term profit meant layoffs and excessive outsourcing.
Boeing became very good at maximizing the present at the expense of the future.
For Starbucks, the customer experience deteriorated by trying to be all things to all people. Personalization, although good in theory, creates chaos while waiting in line. Fun fact: there are over 170,000 ways that you can customize a Starbucks drink. Moreover, the volume of mobile orders creates a “mosh pit” in the stores according to former CEO Howard Schultz.
The coffee hangout morphed into an assembly line of near-infinite caffeination.
Of course, retail is no different.
- Nike punted John Donahoe in favor of company-lifer, Elliot HIll. It’s a logical move within the context of returning to basics amidst the criticism of a lack of innovation.
- Bracken Darrell is undoing effects of leadership that enabled a siloed and fragmented organization at VF. The issues are significant enough that one executive has said that VF had “lost its way.”
- Kevin Plank came back as CEO at Under Armour. But then again, did he really take his finger off the chess piece so to speak? Nonetheless, he’s back.
Leadership changes and a pledge to go back to basics might not fully halt declining performance. But, it will serve as a shot in the arm to remind the organization about what makes them special to begin with.
Ideally, they will never have to “go back” again anytime soon and instead continue to charge forward.
Maybe next year is all about “Back to Basics” for the Yankees.
They should hold a summit with Boeing and Starbucks to make sure they get it right.
