From the baseball diamond to the trade show floor, the trick to performance hasn’t changed: find the ball first, then swing
When I was a kid learning to play baseball, I couldn’t hit the ball to save my life. I’d swing too early, or too late, or not at all. Then one day, my older brother pulled me aside and said, “Your problem is that you’re trying to do two things at once.”
He explained it simply: “You’re waiting until the ball is right in front of you before you even try to find it. By then, you’re already swinging. You’re trying to find the ball and hit the ball at the same time—and that never works.”
His advice was pure gold: “Do one thing at a time. The second the pitcher starts his throw, pick up the ball with your eyes. Track it all the way to the bat. Then swing. Don’t think about hitting until you’ve found it.”
And it worked. But what stuck with me wasn’t just how to make contact—it was the life lesson hidden in that moment: do one thing at a time. Keep it small.
The Hardest Skill in Business Is Still Focus
That mantra—keep it small—has never been harder to live by. We live in an age of nonstop noise, constant pings, and endless plates to spin. Between Slack threads, client calls, social media, budgets, and deadlines, most of us are juggling more than we can actually carry.
But focus is still the key to performance—on the field and in the meeting room. You can’t hit what you can’t see.
I’m reminded of this by IMEX America, which just wrapped in Las Vegas. It was its biggest show ever: more than 17,000 participants, the biggest exhibition floor to date and 379 educational sessions. The number of buyers increased from 2024, with 6,000 global buyers of which 4,700 were hosted buyers.
Buyers took part in over 90,000 scheduled meetings with exhibitors across the three days of the show—over 77,000 of which were pre-scheduled one-to-ones.
Hosted buyers, had pre-scheduled meetings, but were also trying to squeeze in impromptu conversations, site tours, networking events, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, parties, and receptions—all while resisting the gravitational pull of Las Vegas itself.
It’s a miracle anyone gets through it all with a clear head.
When the Agenda’s Packed, Shrink Your Focus
The trick, just like baseball, is to shrink the frame. You can’t do everything at IMEX America—or in life. You can only do the next thing.
Pick one meeting, one connection, one idea—and give it your full attention. Then move to the next. That’s how real relationships get built. That’s how insights actually stick.
Big shows like IMEX America are proof of just how much the events industry thrives on human connection, but also how easy it is to drown in the noise. Keeping things small doesn’t make your goals smaller; it makes them doable.
So the next time you’re standing on a trade show floor, trying to figure out what to do first, remember my brother’s advice: find the ball first, then swing.
Any thoughts, opinions, or news? Please share them with me at vince@meetingsevents.com.
Photo courtesy of IMEX America
