One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in business is that numbers don’t lie – but people sure can get emotional. That’s why I was so captivated when I sat down with Billy Beane, the mastermind behind the Moneyball revolution in Major League Baseball. Billy didn’t just challenge the status quo; he turned data into a competitive advantage and, in the process, transformed the way teams are built.
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For you as an IT business owner, there’s a lot to take away from Billy’s approach. Let me share the insights that stood out most for me – and how you can apply them to your business.
The Power Of Discipline In Data-Driven Decisions
Billy’s philosophy was simple: leverage data like an actuary sets insurance rates. He said, “Everything we did using data was like having the answers to a math test. Why wouldn’t we use it?”
Sound familiar? It’s like having a proven MSP marketing blueprint. Yet so many of us resist the data because it doesn’t align with our gut feelings. Billy talked about this resistance too – how even smart people get emotional when the data doesn’t match their opinions. And that’s where leadership comes in.
He put it best: “The real leadership comes in when you’re counting cards, you lose five hands in a row, and you still triple down on the next bet. That’s where the leadership is – sticking with it.”
As MSPs, how often do you let short-term setbacks derail your plans? If you’ve been burned by a campaign or a bad hire, it’s easy to doubt the whole strategy. But just like in baseball, it’s not about being right every single time – it’s about being right more often than you’re wrong.
The Importance Of Defining What Winning Looks Like
In a world full of data points, Billy stressed the importance of focusing on the right metrics. “You have to decide what winning is,” he said. For the A’s, it was about getting on base – the data point that correlated most directly with wins.
For MSPs, it’s about figuring out the metrics that drive profitability. Is it client retention? Ticket resolution speed? Recurring revenue growth? When you know what your “on base percentage” is, you can focus your energy and resources there.
Building A Winning Culture: Data And Beyond
One of the most powerful insights Billy shared was how culture grows out of winning. “Culture is really a result of having success,” he told me. When a team is winning, the culture thrives – people are happy, collaborative and focused.
But what do you do when you’re not yet winning? Billy’s answer was to lean on the data and trust the process. That’s something I see every day in MSPs that commit to data-driven marketing and sales. The early stages of transformation can feel uncomfortable. But if you’re clear about the right metrics and have the courage to execute, the wins will come – and so will the culture you’re trying to build.
Embrace New Eyes And Fresh Perspectives
Billy also talked about how they stopped pre-qualifying who they brought into the business. By bringing in people from outside baseball – smart people with fresh eyes – they found new ways to win.
I think this is crucial for MSPs too. So often we get stuck in “the way it’s always been done,” missing out on the fresh perspective that new team members or new partners can bring. Sometimes, the breakthrough idea you need isn’t going to come from inside the MSP industry – it’s going to come from someone who’s never been stuck in it!
Don’t Let Emotions Derail Smart Decisions
Perhaps the most surprising thing Billy shared? He didn’t watch the games. “I didn’t want to make a decision emotionally by watching,” he said. He learned that decisions made in the heat of the moment – right after a win or a loss – were often driven by emotion, not data.
For MSPs, this is a great reminder. When you’re deep in the weeds of your business – especially in the middle of a stressful quarter – it’s tempting to overreact to bad news or to let your emotions drive a pivot. Take a beat. Sleep on it. Then go back and look at the data, the trends and the facts. That’s how you make the best decisions.
Where To Start: Find Your Data Points
Billy’s parting advice was this: “Every business has something that directly correlates to success – it’s just whether or not you want to execute on it.” For MSPs, that means identifying your key metrics and focusing relentlessly on them.
One place to start? Look at where your most profitable customers come from. Track those data points and build your process around them. It’s not about guessing. It’s about finding the stats that really matter and executing with discipline.
Final Thoughts
Billy Beane’s story is a powerful reminder that data isn’t just for baseball – it’s for every business that wants to win. As MSPs, you have more data than ever at your fingertips – website metrics, campaign performance, client satisfaction surveys and more. The question is: are you using that data to drive disciplined, winning decisions? Or are you still letting gut feelings and noise run the show?
It’s time to take a page from Billy’s playbook: let the data lead the way, execute with discipline and watch your team become a winning team – on and off the field.
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