April. The crack of the bat, the pop of the glove, and the scent of fresh-cut grass signal the return of America’s pasttime—baseball. Every team, from the reigning World Series champs to the underdogs that finished last in their division, starts this month with the same thing: hope. The slate is wiped clean. Records are 0-0. Everyone’s tied for first. And you can feel it—the belief that this could be our year.

Now let’s shift that spotlight to your business.

We’re just stepping out of Q1. Maybe you crushed it these first three months, or maybe you stumbled out of the gate. Doesn’t matter. Because just like baseball, the long game is still ahead of you. You’ve got nine innings to play—and we’re only through the first.

So, let me ask you: Do you still have hope? More importantly, do you have a plan?

Every Day Is an Opportunity

And it’s no different in business.

Your star salesperson—your top producer—just walked in and handed you their resignation. The reason? “It’s not about the money… but also, yeah, it’s about the money.” Culture may have played a role, or maybe the competition offered a shiny bonus they couldn’t refuse. Regardless, you just lost your ace. Now what?

In both games, you’ve got to decide how to respond.

Do you crumble?

Do you throw in the towel and chalk up the season as a loss?

Or do you rally the team, dig into your bench strength, and refocus on the fundamentals?

Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. Business is no different. One tough inning doesn’t define your season. One lost customer or team member doesn’t mean you’re out of the running. 

But how you respond to those setbacks? That’s what sets champions apart.

Discipline + Fun = Success

A high-performing team knows what winning looks like. They’re not guessing. They’re not operating in the dark. They’re clear on the goals, aligned on the expectations, and empowered to execute. And yeah, they’re having a hell of a lot of fun doing it.

Here’s the kicker: most businesses don’t have a scoreboard.



In baseball, you can’t avoid the numbers. The scoreboard is staring at you from center field. Batting averages. Earned run averages. 

Wins, losses, strikeouts, errors—it’s all out in the open. 

You’re being compared every single day to the other team.

And not just compared—you’re being measured.

Meanwhile, in business? Most owners and leadership teams are comparing themselves to… themselves.

“Hey, we did better than last year.” Cool. But how does that stack up to the rest of the industry?

Are you leading the league or stuck in Triple-A?

Without context, your stats don’t mean much. You might be celebrating a winning month, but your competition might be up 2x and poaching your customers while you’re patting yourself on the back.

Start Keeping Score

Would you walk into a baseball stadium, tell the players to "just go have fun," and never post the score? Would you yank the box scores from the papers the next day and tell fans, “Just trust us—we’re doing great!” Hell no. Players want to know where they stand. Fans want to know who’s winning.

Your business should operate the same way. You need a scoreboard, benchmarks, and knowledge of how you stack up—not just internally but against the competition.

This is where we come in.

At Vision Forward, we provide Industry Comparison Reports that take the guesswork out of your performance metrics. We’ll show you where you stand in your field—what leaders in your industry are doing how your revenue, margin, overhead, and other key stats compare. It’s like seeing the league standings in real-time.

And once you know where you stand, you can start building the lineup that gets you to the playoffs.

Culture, Coaching, and Championship Runs

That producer who left for “more money”? They may have been your biggest bat, but if they didn’t buy into the clubhouse culture, maybe it’s addition by subtraction.

Or maybe it’s a wake-up call for your leadership team to get serious about retention, clarity, and motivation.As a leader, your job is to be part manager, part coach, part cheerleader. You’ve got to guide the team, create the game plan, adjust when needed, and build a culture where people want to show up and compete. 

Not because they’re afraid—but because they believe.

They believe in the mission. They believe in the team. And yeah, they believe they can win.

So What Now?

Ready to see where your business stands in the league?