BOOK OF THE WEEK: "Hidden Potential" by Adam Grant

Adam Grant has a new book out and it is perfect. 

I'm going to flip all the way to the end and start at the epilogue. Why? I'm built different. But no in all seriousness, this needs to be said first. 

For those that don't know the organizational psychologist, Adam Grant. He's a Harvard alum. But what you also probably don't know is, Grant failed his writing exam. Interesting. A New York Times #1 bestselling author failed his writing exam when he went to Harvard? Yes, it is true he did. But it was what he did afterward that made him into that bestselling author.

Sure it was probably quite humbling and a shot to the ego failing his writing placement exam. It's something that makes one feel as if they are an imposter and they didn't deserve to be at Harvard. But he met with his alumni interviewer again, the interviewer said the thing that he wrote to the admissions committee about Grant was not about being a magician. It was the initiative Grant showed in learning how to do magic and the courage he showed in the interviewer's law office to perform a magic trick. That's what made Grant stand out. 

That was one solid interview by the Harvard alum. But not surprising. It's not uncommon for Harvard alums to act in this way. Harvard alums are not uptight or stodgy as others may think they are. Just the opposite. Most would rather have you tell them a story about how you accomplished something. Grant's situation paralleled to a situation I faced this past summer. 

I had just shot my career low round of a 74, finished with +9 quota points AND recorded my first eagle (2-under par on hole) (outside of my hole-in-one from four years ago) on the Fourth of July. You could say I played well that day. Well the following Tuesday in the Tuesday night golf league, I got paired up with a pair of Harvard alums (Class of 81 and Class of 88). 

Riding around with the member of the Class of 88 for nine holes, it was only natural that the 74 and my first eagle came up (news spreads quickly around the course). But he didn't just ask. The words he used were clear, he said "tell me about the eagle." 

It's an interesting question. To the average person the response is "yeah well I got an eagle." But really the true answer was making it a story. A story that had a climax and some suspense to it. Because it's an eagle - 2-under par on a hole (so a 2 on a par four, 3 on a par five, 1 on a par three) - there has to be some dramatics. And there was some excitement. 

It was the shortest par five. It hit my usual drive - in the fairway. With a solid drive in the middle of the fair I was about 170 out from two cross sand traps so I hit a five-iron inside the 100-yard marker on the right, setting me up for a nice wedge to a front right pin. Anytime I'm within 100 yards or less, I always attack the pin and I did just that, that day. Ball is perfectly in line with the pin, takes one bounce and slight role into the hole.  

But that's it right there. That's what Adam Grant's Harvard alumni interview saw in Grant that day of his interview

BLOG: Be Versatile

Back during his playing days, the Red Sox continuously re-assigned Lou Merloni their Triple A affiliate so frequently that the route between Boston and, then, Pawtucket had been colloquially re-named as the "Merloni Shuttle." Merloni wasn't all to happy about being shuttled back and forth, who would, but the reason was simple: he had options that allowed the team to adjust the roster without fear of losing players to the rest of the baseball market. 

It's not fun to be this person. There so much uncertainty. One never knows how long they will stay in the big leagues before they getting shipped out. It's stressful. 

While there's a name for the the player who is on the cusp of Triple A and the Majors (Merloni Shuttle), what about those pitchers who on edge of being starter and reliever? Those pitchers who are good enough to be starter, but when other starters either return from injury or just better pitchers are acquired, that pitcher gets sent to the bullpen. 

Well that scenario was right there was Tim Wakefield. 

He was a starter, reliever and even a closer. Still pretty mind-boggling that a guy who threw a pitch that no one has any control over was chosen to pitch the last inning of the game, but hey that was Jimy Williams for you. 

It's no surprise since the man was drafted by the Pirates as an infielder. But when it was told to him that he may never make it to the majors as position player, he shifted his eyes towards pitching. Wakefield was an innovator. And it was what kept him in baseball for 19 years. 

Laggers build walls when they feel winds of change. Innovators build windmills.

— Imry Halevi (@imryh) August 26, 2023

Wakefield was always the man on the move. Shuttling back-and-forth between in the rotation and the bullpen, is not ideal. No one dreams of being a relief pitcher. They always dream of being a starter - taking the mound every five days. So when you're in the bullpen you can feel lost.

But just like he did in the minors when told he wasn't going to make it as a position player. He pivoted. Wakefield used his versatility to his advantage. And it is something that needs to be studied by anyone who plays a sport from the youth levels all the way to the professional levels. 

In this day when it is pays to be highly specialized we come to forget that it is the versatility that is the true marker of success.