Which way do you turn when you get to first base?

Playing Heads-Up Ball

Arlen Lapp coached Little League baseball in Harleysville Pennsylvania, a small southeastern town about sixty miles north of Philadelphia. He taught the fundamentals of baseball to young would-be Phillies in the 1970s. I was one of literally hundreds upon hundreds of players he coached during his years as a volunteer.

Above all other fundamentals Coach Lapp instilled in us, was the fundamental of playing heads-up baseball. This meant that we were always on our toes and not our heels, always had our eyes on the ball and not in our mitts, and always stayed curious about where the ball might go. Our brains had to be in the present, not on last night’s episode of Happy Days, and definitely not on the ice cream that awaited us after practice.

In today’s vernacular, we call this presence. Being present in the current moment that is in front of us and curious about what will emerge. For all of you who have read and talked with me about the Five Fundamental Questions that Unlock Your Organization’s Future Value, you too have benefited from Coach Lapp.

This popular blog series is now in a brief e-book for your use in your leadership development and in the growth of your organization’s future value. Please download a copy and share it with your team, board members, and colleagues.

At Design Group International, we believe that our intellectual property should be shared with others for their benefit and for the greater good. We do so knowing that we are growing as leaders ourselves even as we are helping to grow and deepen the leadership of the Clients we serve. As a human and leadership development company, we’d expect nothing less from ourselves…nor should you.

Coach Lapp always taught us, when you hit a baseball into the outfield, you turn left at first base. Because you never know what will happen in the outfield and turning left is the direction towards home plate.

If you would like to talk through your organization’s future and how the concepts in this e-book can support your leadership, please feel free to call me at 616.516.9870 or email lons@designgroupintl.com.

Or you can schedule a 30-minute discovery call through this link. I’d be honored to listen and learn more about your organization and its future value!

Walking alongside you,

Lon L. Swartzentruber
CEO, Design Group International
Senior Design Partner