Yesterday Manny Ramirez made two errors in the outfield fighting the sun. Curt Shilling was pitching and went on to win the game by fighting to get three outs in the fifth inning. I was listening to Shilling's remarks this morning and was reminded again how nice it is to have smart sports figures in Boston who are leaders and teachers that can transcend sports.

When Shilling was asked whether he got angry or frustrated with his fielders when they make errors when he is pitching he gave a great response. He doesn't get angry at all because he knows that his teammates are working hard behind him to make the plays and errors just happen in baseball. Instead he sees the errors as a chance to help his teammates out to give them a boost in a tough situation. The players already feel bad about the errors but the pitcher can give them a big boost by getting out of the inning and not having any runs score as a result of the error. It is as close as a pitcher gets to having an offensive situation where their teammate hit a double and they are at the plate hitting to give them an RBI. The pitcher has a chance to partner with the player making the error to resolve the problem from the error before runs score. The result is that his teammates then see that he is working hard for them when they need him personally and they are highly motivated to support him when they come to bat with him as a pitcher.

The takeaway from this in the world of business or management is that mistakes and errors happen. When they do it isn't most productive to get angry with someone but can instead be a great opportunity to increase trust and to give someone who needs a boost a lift what they need to get more committed to a project. This doesn't mean that people who are making errors because they aren't trying should be excused and given special treatment to cover for their mistakes. Shilling made a big differentiation between how he reacts to an honest error and one where the player wasn't trying. If a player isn't trying then Shilling expects a full apology for the error and will talk to the guy to let him know he is disappointed because the player let him down. That seems like the right rule to apply for the boost opportunity behind mistakes plan. If the mistake is a result of a reasonable error and not laziness then support the person and the team gets better. If it is because they aren't trying then let 'em have it and make sure they shape-up or ship out.