Wednesday, July 23, 2008

a five tool player

In baseball a five tool player is someone who can hit for average & power, has a great arm, speed and is great defensively.  The ultimate five tool player was Roberto Clemente.  He did it all, and he did it exceptionally well.

You can make it to the bigs and even be an all star if you do one well.  If you can hit for power and you hit a lot of homeruns you'll probably get a bunch of votes and play in the All Star game.  Sure, it's silly that people just vote for their favorite player and that they have the all star game having only played half a season...but that's how they do it.

 If you're not so good at defense, running or throwing...and your average is kind of low...you'll probably still be a hero if you hit the long ball.

Most jobs have skill possibilities that lend themselves to the homerun like all star status.  You work at the garage and you can change the oil of 17 cars an hour...and you're the man.  Even if you don't know how to weld...you crank out a lot of customers and you're a hero.  Having a big skill gets you notice.

Every once in a while you run into someone who can do it all.  They change the oil while welding the fetzer valve, diagnosing the problem with your heater, adjusting your air intake and pounding out a dent.  They do it all, they do it fast, they're a five tool player.

There aren't many five tool players in life. They're a rare breed.  You maybe have never worked with one....and maybe you've never met one.  Having one big skill often is all you need to get noticed.  You're great with numbers but bad with people.  You're good with presentations, but bad with follow up.  You can make the product, but not the sale.  It's tough doing it all.  The five tool player is rare indeed.  Annie might be the only one I know.  She's a six tool player.

So the question is - what would a five tool player in life look like?  Or at your job?
(insert tool references here)

5 comments:

  1. i don't know what the five tools are, but i know bob saget has them!

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  2. Why would you write a post like this, knowing I would have to cancel the rest of my day to concentrate on writing the perfect one-liner referencing tools.

    So, here it is...wait, I'm not ready yet. Too much pressure.

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  3. Speaking of Bob Saget--he was the subject of a heated debate last night surrounding the response to a Jeopardy question. I prevailed and ended up winning the game!

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  4. willing to buy lunch, sexy legs, tall, wears glasses and russian.
    in a word... Kolia.

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  5. why is it 5 tools? or the 3 steps? or the 6 points? or the 4 prerogatives? is it really all about numbers with you sean?

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