Small Ball Snapshot: The Discomfort of Change
I sat in my hotel room in Branson the night before the speech, staring at my notes for a keynote I had never delivered before. Breaking Barriers in the Ballpark of Change. New stories. New structure. No familiar rhythm to lean on.
I kept telling myself what I always tell myself: it always works out. As a perfectionist, I knew my hope would be to make it perfect immediately, but I recognized time and repetition needed to run its course. I had to just go.
The irony wasn't lost on me. I was about to talk about navigating change at an event for ProValue Insurance, while feeling every bit of discomfort that comes with it.
One story I shared was about Eric Hosmer. When he left Kansas City for San Diego, he found himself surrounded by younger players who communicated differently. The lingo had changed. The references had changed.
What struck me was that he never changed who he was as a leader. What he changed was how he communicated. Hosmer stayed the same leader, but he found new ways to speak their language so they could hear him.
The world changes. People change. Communication changes. Your voice should not.
The audience leaned in. But the real moment came at the end when I shared a message from my dear friend Sarah Nauser.
Sarah has ALS. I texted her a few days before asking if she had a message for this group. What came back took longer than most texts. Not because she was distracted. Because she was typing with her eyes.
This is what she sent:
"Having the courage to change to our ever changing world is NOT a weakness. It's a strength and an opportunity to grow as a person. As ALS took my physical abilities, rather than letting it defeat me, I continuously find ways to change and adapt. Accepting change is liberating. When there's a will, there's a way. It's up to you to find it."
She texted that entire thing with her eyes. Her voice is becoming softer, yet her voice is becoming louder. She just finished her second keynote using AI to clone her voice from before her diagnosis, reclaiming what ALS tried to take.
There I was, uncomfortable about trying a new speech. There she was, using technology to literally get her voice back.
Sometimes the biggest lesson about change doesn't come from getting comfortable with it. It comes from recognizing that when change is necessary, you find a way. The work ethic stays. The voice stays. The persistence stays. The methods evolve.
That’s Small Ball.
Question: Where in your world do you need to adjust how you show up while still staying true to who you are?
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