In honor of the 2012 World Series, Entrepreneur.com contributor Trevor Turnbull offers some lessons that small business owners and managers can learn from professional baseball managers. Contrary to the beliefs of many, baseball managers do more than kick dirt and eat sunflower seeds, and Turnbull has identified three specific situations where the decisions of MLB skippers relate to those made in business operations.

1. Understand the numbers but follow your gut. In the American League Divisional Series, just a couple weeks ago, Yankees manager Joe Girardi benched perennial all-star Alex Rodriquez in favor of aging pinch hitter Raul Ibanez. Many would have questioned the decision had it worked out differently, but the change resulted in two Ibanez home runs, one a 12^th-inning game winner. Girardi said of the choice, “I just kind of had a gut decision.” The lesson? While it’s important to gain as much information to base important business decisions upon, sometimes you still need to ignore statistics and follow your instincts.
2. Make difficult decisions and stand by them. Going back to 2004, former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona faced a similar decision but made the opposite choice. Despite his offensive struggles, Francona chose to stick with center fielder Johnny Damon. Damon went on to play a critical role in one of the greatest comebacks of all time, and the Sox went on to win their first World Series in more than 85 years. The lesson? Make hard decisions, learn from your mistakes and adjust           accordingly to improve future outcomes.
3. Keep calm and carry on. Giants manager Bruce Bochy guided his team to this year’s World Series championship despite a year filled with adversity. He lost his closing pitcher to injury, his best starting pitchers have struggled and all-star outfielder Melky Cabrera was suspended for the remainder of the season. But Boche kept his cool and appears to have made all the right decisions to keep the team afloat. The lesson? In business, just like in athletics, things don’t always go as planned. In good or bad times, it’s the manager’s job to instill confidence in employees and keep things running as smoothly as possible.

Click here to read the entire article from Entrepreneur.com.

Aspen Photo / Shutterstock.com