Stacking

On May 15th, 1941 Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees got a hit. For the next 55 games, he recorded at least one hit setting a record that has not been broken since —a 56 game hit streak. DiMaggio never bunted during the streak. His team was 14-14 when the streak started and faced four Hall of Fame pitchers from other clubs. DiMaggio did the same thing every single day and never changed as he became the greatest streak hitter of all time. By the way, when playing in the minors, in 1933 DiMaggio had a 61 game hitting streak. DiMaggio "stacked" one good day after another.

As a leader and coach, we are always looking for ways to become great. And that is the main problem. The "looking around" forces us to violate the number one rule that is essential to great organizations: discipline. Discipline becomes harder when you have little success. And how do you maintain discipline? By "stacking."

Stacking is a term used for putting consecutive good days on top of one another. A 56 game hitting streak is the best example of stacking. Good day after good days results in becoming great. No one or any company becomes great without "stacking." And as a leader, coach, and teacher, we must educate everyone on the power of stacking and the discipline needed to sustain the results and momentum. We all talk about "Win the Day," but we never show our teams and organizations how many days we are winning.

Weight Watchers are the best example of stacking. If you join Weight Watchers to lose weight, they send you food, drinks and put you on daily caloric intake. There is nothing in the Weight Watchers boxes that's unique or revolutionary. It's portion control (discipline) and doing it over an extended time frame (stacking). Their business model is simple. They accompany discipline with stacking because they understand those two areas are the hardest for all of us to achieve. When those two areas are in alignment, progress happens, and people lose weight, ultimately, achieving their goal.

In spite of what we read and hear all day long as we live in a culture of instant gratification, success does not happen overnight. Success comes from stacking.

There's a Latin phrase described as "Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat." It's commonly translated to "Fortune Favors the Bold." Fortes also means "the strong ones." Guess who's strong? The people who stack each day and understand the opportunities they cultivate in life is a marathon, not merely a sprint.

Please forward and share this email with your friends and family.