What You See Early is What You Get

This week, several rookies made their major league debut. None bigger than last year's first pick in the baseball draft-Stephen Strasburg. Last June, he was finishing his stellar career at San Diego State University under the tutelage of Hall of Famer, Tony Gwynn. That month, he was also selected first in the draft by the lowly Washington Nationals. Since then, he has pitched lights out at every stop (albeit short) along the way. His minor league career began in October and last nearly eight months before joining the Nationals last week.

So how did his first start go? "Preposterous" says Bob Costas. Strasburg started the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and pitched seven innings. Along the way, he allowed 2 earned runs, gave up no walks and struck out an incredible 14 Pirate hitters. One short of the record for a debut. Unbelievably, he struck out the last seven batters he faced! Oh, by the way, he also throws 100 mph on occasion.

Yesterday, was another debut by a rookie in Boston. Daniel Nava started in left field. All he did was hit a grand slam home run on the first pitch he saw! Not a bad start to a career. More on Daniel Nava another time (perhaps because I'm upset it was against the Phillies).

I had a boss that used to say, "what you see early is what you get." It goes both ways. If you see someone working hard, asking good questions, interacting well with others and getting results-chances are that person is going to be a good hire and employee. If you see someone who is chatty, questioning why they have to do something, whiny and has attitude problems-guess what, institute a 90 day probation policy. That person will also do the same throughout their employment.

Early results like we have seen from Strasburg and Nava don't necessarily forecast hall of fame induction. But they do forecast work ethic, clubhouse chemistry and desire to win. In baseball and all sports, the road to the top is tricky and requires one to stay healthy along the way. In an organization, there may be fits and starts, but the one with the good work ethic, attitude and desire for results is going to receive more coaching, focus and help from others to ensure they do well.

You may want to consider utilizing a temp-to-hire or probation period hiring policy. See what a person is like before making the commitment to hire full-time. Talk to an HR professional or labor lawyer for details and applicability in your state. Here's to a good week for the rookies-how about the ones in your office?