The Business of Baseball – How America’s Pastime Drives Innovation with Bill DeWitt of the St. Louis Cardinals

06/20/24 • 36 min

The speed of innovation and technological advances over the past decade has been transformative for all businesses, 100-year-old companies and growing startups alike. Baseball’s storied history in America has played a huge role in its popularity, but like any other business, it’s had to evolve to keep up with technology and customer expectations.

St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III and the MLB understood that their audience and their expectations were changing, and competition for entertainment was mounting due to smartphones, among other catalysts. This presented a unique challenge and opportunity for the game of baseball to adapt while remaining true to its beloved traditions.

But Who’s Counting? hosts Dave Hartley and Missy Kelley sat down with Bill to discuss his tenure with the Cardinals and what prompted changes to the game in 2023. They dig into the impact of technology on the game for fans and players, as well as:

The role of data analytics in driving a better fan experience and operational improvements
Why it’s important to experiment with big changes before implementing
Why diversifying, both to cater to different audiences and in revenue streams, ultimately creates more satisfying experiences
How technology has affected the game and the business
The link between creativity and innovation

“That’s what baseball’s insight was: how you frame the problem and how you communicate with fans who are so passionate about the game so that they understand that we’re trying to create a better version of the game. It was a goal, a North Star, to find the best version of the game itself, and that appeals pretty much to everybody.” – Bill DeWitt III
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The role of data analytics in driving a better fan experience and operational improvements
Why it’s important to experiment with big changes before implementing
Why diversifying, both to cater to different audiences and in revenue streams, ultimately creates more satisfying experiences
How technology has affected the game and the business
The link between creativity and innovation

Check out these additional resources for more insight into the conversation:

Send us a text

Previous Episode

Investing in Your Organizational Health for a More Innovative Workplace with Liz Hughes of The Table Group

Fostering a healthy workplace creates an environment where the best, smartest ideas can flourish. What are the signs of a healthy workplace and how can leadership create an atmosphere where constructive debate leads to better results? A healthy organization minimizes the corporate politics that restrict innovation, promoting honest, yet difficult, conversations and debates centered on reaching the best ideas. Creating strategic alignment not only in your leadership teams but throughout your organization is an entry point, but it requires commitment at every level.

But Who’s Counting? hosts Dave Hartley and Missy Kelley welcomed Liz Hughes, Principal Consultant at The Table Group. Liz coaches executives to align their teams behaviorally and strategically, helping them achieve organizational clarity while building trust and understanding that improves team cohesion. The discussion also touched on strategies to improve meeting efficiency, recognizing obstacles to innovation and the following:

How to establish vulnerability-based trust to cultivate an environment where your people are comfortable innovating and sharing ideas
The difference and benefits of tactical vs. strategic meetings
Key indicators of organizational health
Why establishing trust is harder for remote teams
The four disciplines of organizational health

“Something that really can foster innovation is when you have a healthy, ideological culture of debate [and] robust dialogue [where] all ideas can be heard.” – Liz Hughes
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Next Episode

undefined - How Business Leaders Can "Mind the Soil" for AI and Innovation to Take Root with Stefanie Thelen, Chief Innovation Officer at Object Computing, Inc.

How Business Leaders Can "Mind the Soil" for AI and Innovation to Take Root with Stefanie Thelen, Chief Innovation Officer at Object Computing, Inc.

Innovation in the workplace doesn’t happen spontaneously; it needs to be encouraged and cultivated for change to truly take place. Before your company can make transformative use of emerging technologies such as AI, you must carefully examine your organization’s culture and leadership’s reaction to failure to make the jump to the next level not just feasible but inevitable.

Missy Kelley and Dave Hartley, hosts of But Who’s Counting?, welcomed Stefanie Thelen, Chief Innovation Officer for Object Computing, Inc., to discuss ways businesses can empower inventive new approaches to resolve pain points with real-world use cases of AI and automation. Stefanie urges leadership to “mind the soil” to create a more fruitful environment for workers to take on new initiatives courageously and mindfully. She explains approaching AI by asking “where does it hurt” and thinking big to address it. The conversation also touched on:

Where companies should start when implementing AI into business processes
How an organization’s reaction to failure directly corresponds to its ability to innovate and how she recovered from a $2 million mistake
Acknowledging biases and systems that need to change
Putting AI in the hands of people before it’s needed and how to identify those individuals
Tangible examples of AI and automation
Stefanie’s work with Arch Grants to help build the future economy in St. Louis
The impact Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has on innovation and what it means to “innovate from the edges”

“AI, in some ways, is unlike any other technology evolution or advancement. In a lot of ways, it’s exactly like every other technology evolution or advancement... Continue to ask why and continue to try to pull back and broaden your lens so that you understand that it’s a phenomenal tool, but it’s just another tool.” - Stefanie Thelen
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But Who's Counting? - The Business of Baseball – How America’s Pastime Drives Innovation with Bill DeWitt of the St. Louis Cardinals

Transcript

Intro00:00:00.521

You're focused on making important decisions to take your company to the next level . But who's counting ?

Intro00:00:07.123

We are Counting on trends and insight to move your business forward operationally and strategically , focused on helping executives achieve their highest potential . But who's Counting is a podcast shedding light on and breaking down critical i