For those of us who love the sport of baseball, Opening Day means many things -

• Better weather is on its way
• More sunshine each day means more outside dining
• Most importantly, every team has an equal shot of going to the World Series

That's right.  On opening day, every team is 0-0.  It does not matter what the team did last year, or who won the World Series last year, or what the expectations are.  In April, EVERY team has a clean slate to start fresh and new.

Wouldn't it be great if our businesses were like that?  Once a year, we all could put away our mistakes, our spreadsheets, our employee conflicts, and our bad leadership traits and start new!

No grudges, no looking back - only looking ahead.

As leaders, this is something that you HAVE to do. Too many of your employees live in the past and are focused on how it "used to be."  They prefer what was instead of what could be.

Take some time this Spring to have your own "opening day."  In a team meeting, tell your team that we are starting from scratch, our record is 0-0, there is a fresh pitch count, and we will not look back and wonder.  We will only move forward.

That is a sign of a good leader.

Now get out there, and Play Ball!