Why didn’t the New York Yankees win the 2011 world series of baseball?
They have the “best” lineup. “Best” pitchers. And they pay more to their players than any other team to keep them on their team and motivated to win (see: http://content.usatoday.com/sportsdata/baseball/mlb/salaries/team/2011 .) They are numero uno in the minds of their fans and in the minds of most of their competition. They most certainly are numero uno in their own minds. *
So, why didn’t they win the 2011 World Series?
Answer: because they didn’t play in it. They were beaten before the series even began. Beaten by a team that didn’t make it either. In other words, the “best” team in baseball turned out to be anything but the best team in the one place where it counts – on the field, competing head to head with the other teams. They got beat. In order to win the World Series, at the end of the baseball season, a team must win 11 games. 11 out of 17. That’s a fact and the Yankees won 2.
Now we could do all that nonsense that goes on forever in the sports pages and in barrooms across the land; on the TV and radio talk shows and even in many living rooms or at dining room tables – Monday morning analysis of what happened and why. But we think it is boring. Instead we think it is sensible to state the obvious –
"Just because you are paid a lot and you have a lot of history and mythological lore behind your claims and expectations, don’t think for a minute that it means a thing when you go head to head with competitors who are focused on two things – one, winning and, two, beating you."
And now, we, of course, are moving away from our baseball analogy/parable and are moving toward our American example. Is America the richest country in the world? Best paid? Most of most everything? Well, the answer really comes down to what you are looking at. The statistics will still place America at the top spot in many measurement categories but the statistics will also place America well down the listing in many others and, in the one grouping of statistics that do matter but are regularly avoided or just ignored by those with the large megaphones – politicians, bureaucrats and Hollywood media outfits, the negative statistics, America has leading positions in most categories.
Debt. Top of the list. Deficits. Top of the list. Societal costs (i.e. what we pay for needed public services such as health care and education and military and most government services.) Top of the list. America pays much more for much less in both health care and education. Ditto for military and ditto for government period. Our societal costs per capita for health care, education and social security and environmental services and army, navy, air force activities and even such things as border control and drug enforcement and prison/jail upkeep costs lead the world. In all categories we are the leading spender in the world. Diplomatic costs around the world – America is number one. In any so-called “public service” activity we spend more than anyone else even though we are not the largest country by many measurement metrics.
And the countries that are now challenging our economic statistics which have always placed us at the top of most lists are not engaging in challenging America’s top spending spots at all. They are content to self engage; self improve and self focus.
There is a great saying – never interfere when your enemy is self destructing. Substitute the word “competitor” for “enemy” and you will grasp the meaning of this essay. Or, to look at it another way, take this expression: Know thyself. You see, even in geo politics; even in geo economics; even in baseball, it still comes down to the fundamentals. You just cannot spend your way to much of anything in this world. You can, however, work your way to almost anything in this world. So, when you measure trends and even results; measure the activities that consider work, productivity and output and compare those to your competition and then adjust and set policy and make needed changes. All the other stuff is mythology and window dressing.
Wake up America. Get off you fat behind and get to work. You are not playing a game and you most certainly are not competing in the World Series.
* So, what is the payroll of the team that won the 2011 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals, you may ask? About one-half that of the Yankees. Team they played? Texas Rangers? Even less. Check out the link above and see for yourself.
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