When September 1st arrives, baseball teams bring up anywhere from zero to 15 players to support their teams during the playoff stretch. In the case of the Yankees, this came in the form of a 3rd catcher, a second backup infielder, a backup infielder/outfielder, and 6 or 7 extra “arms” in the bullpen. These callups were used to help give people rest before the postseason begins, give people an opportunity to prove themselves in key situations, and in some cases provide a resource on the bench for late inning running or hitting opportunities.
For teams that aren’t performing well, these September callups are a great opportunity to showcase talent to trade them for other important team players, or to test out players for future roles in the organization.
These same approaches can be applied to your team as you prepare for the holidays or any peak business opportunity. Bringing in temporary talent, interns, trainees, or just giving your current staff opportunity to play new roles or take vacations before the busy season can be the recipe for an excellent “roster expansion” for your business. Some of the best people I hired and have seen hired are the ones brought in prior to a busy time, where they can hone their skills on a limited basis, or give people needed time off before the time that really matters.
