Baseball Opening Day … Who Starts the Wave?

This is a replay of a post on SUCCESS Magazine Blog, Friday, April 6, 2012. 

It’s time for hot dogs, fresh-cut grass and the sound of the ball on the bat. Opening Day is finally here, baseball fans! And as a Texas Rangers fan, the sting still lingers from last year’s World Series. We were one strike away from winning … twice. Yes, twice. Thankfully, there is always next year and now it’s finally here.

The best part is the wave. It begins with one fan, then a few more, and finally an entire section enthusiastically jumps to their feet. After many failed starts, the wave eventually travels all around the park. An entire stadium of people working together to make it happen.

The wave is a perfect metaphor for how change really gets started in our organizations, careers and life. It starts with the decision to step out and take action that ultimately brings big things and maybe even bring thousands of fans to their feet.

If one word stands out to me on how the wave of change really happens, it’s persistence. I love how a few people keep trying and trying. There are groans when it stalls three sections away, and they start again. And, finally they get more followers and it takes off. Yet it never works the first time and usually not the second or the third.

Read the full post here.

Patti Johnson is the CEO and founder of PeopleResults, a consultancy focused on guiding organizations and individuals to “start the wave” of change. Patti is an instructor at SMU’s Executive Education program and a keynote speaker on Leading Change. Follow her @PattiBJohnson or her company @People_Results on Twitter.