Singles and Doubles vs. Home Runs and Grand Slams

It’s baseball season, which begs the question… What’s better for your business—hitting consistent singles and the occasional double, or always swinging for home runs and grand slams?

On a recent episode of How I Built This, Missy Park, founder of women’s apparel brand Title Nine, shared her approach to growth. Competing with giants like lululemon, Athleta, Nike, and Vuori, Title Nine has taken a different path—one without outside capital or debt. As Missy explained, there’s a big difference between hitting consistent singles and always swinging for the fences.

Paraphrasing her words:
“There’s a difference between hitting consistent singles and always swinging for the fences to try and hit home runs and grand slams. Focusing on homeruns means striking out a lot. Trying to hit consistent singles the occasional double will score you runs in a baseball game. The same goes for business.”

That idea stuck with me. Thinking about our business, and the businesses we serve, I see a common thread: consistency. Our clients show up every day. They do the work. They lean into the grind and trust the long game. Sure, they’ve got big ideas. But their foundation? Singles and doubles. Over time, that consistency adds up—and that’s how we’ve grown, too.

No flash. Just steady swings, the occasional triple or homer, and a whole lot of grit. That same Midwest work ethic you’d find on any town ball field in Minnesota. Show up. Get on base. Drive in runs.

Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT for a take on this – this is what it said:

“In isolation, home runs are more statistically valuable than singles and doubles. But in a team context, a balanced approach that includes getting on base (via singles/doubles) and power hitting (triples/homers) is what drives wins.”

Exactly. So, here are three questions worth asking:

1. What are your singles and doubles?
2. Where do triples, home runs, and grand slams fit in?
3. And most importantly—where’s your focus?