Making Adjustments

I was listening to a summary of last night's World Series game (Game Two) and the analyst was talking about the batting team's (Phillies) initial strategy against the opposing pitcher (AJ Burnett of the Yankees).

Burnett has a history of being inconsistent so the Phillies plan was to make him "hit the target". Well, the Yankee starter threw first pitch strikes to the first five batters he faced. By getting ahead in the count, Burnett gained the upper hand which is so important for a pitcher.

Much talk was deservedly about Burnett's performance but a fair amount was directed at the Phillies' lack of adjustment to Burnett's consistency. He was obviously hitting the target but the National League Champs never seemed to alter their strategy.

This baseball example helps me make the following work point: Never adjust unless there is ample evidence to support and guide the adjustment. If you are running an adjustable work station, never adjust based on a single measurement. Collect multiple measurements to clearly learn the behavior of the station. Adjust to the mean performance.

It is the same idea with measurement calibration. We measure a standard multiple times with a measurement instrument. We compare the mean of the measurements to the standard's value. If correction is needed, we do so from the mean to the standard, not from an individual measurement to the standard.

In life, extreme circumstances will confront us. Some will be good and others will be bad. At such times, it seems so obvious that life must be altered but it is more prudent to wait on God's will which, to me, is analogous to mean performance. God's will is the center of life. It is the mean of our existence. We should never get to high in the great times and too low in the bad times. We should trust and hope in God's will and have confidence that he will help us make the necessary adjustments (in life) to grow closer to Jesus who is our standard for living.