List and Learn: Lessons for Surviving Pandemic Adversity from the MLB

As the MLB season gets under way, it reminds me of how much we need to keep adapting to what is going on right now.

It took some time for major league baseball to start playing again. The players and the owners wanted to make it as right as they could for everybody involved. In the eyes of some, it took much longer than it should have, but one thing is for sure, they are playing now and they are constantly adapting.

Recently, following the positive COVID-19 test results of a number of players on the Marlins, the Phillies, who had just played the Marlins, had to cancel their game against the Yankees. The Orioles, who were scheduled to play the Marlins, also canceled their game. So quick-thinking by the MLB rerouted the Yankees to Baltimore to keep the long-awaited season moving.

Know why that transition happened so smoothly? No one complained. The MLB, the Yankees and the Orioles controlled ONLY what was in their power to control – in this case, changing the schedule.

This is just one example of getting through this pandemic adversity. You need to focus on finding solutions - not problems - by controlling how you respond to, think about, and lead through this.

The best way to do this is to do what I call list and learn. In other words, list the problems and identify what you can learn from them.

In the case of the Yankees, Phillies and the MLB at large, they likely learned that:

• They must work together

• They must be flexible

• Complaining about things would get them nowhere

• They need to have the mindset to control ONLY what’s in your control

After your list is done, design different ways that you can make these into a learning situation for dealing with any diversity that gets thrown your way in the future.

One of my friends owns a business that has taken a hit during the pandemic, but he’s not panicking. Why not?

Following the 2008 financial collapse, he went through his own list and learn process that made him realize that he could not saddle his company in debt and he must work toward practicing smarter spending and saving practices. As a result, he became a better businessman, and I can tell you this he is certainly not bitter about the current struggle of businesses closing during the lockdown.

I truly believe that you will either get better and learn from this pandemic or you will get worse and be a bitter person in the end. To get better, list and learn.