“Cut It in Half & Master It”

I find myself reusing this maxim in the most peculiar places in life. It’s original use was a baseball team strategy at the University of San Diego. In fact, I can’t read those words and not hear them in the voice of Rich Hill, our head coach. While he’s one of just several living head coaches with more than 1,000 NCAA wins under his belt, his advice seems to permeate life off the field. 

Let me explain the phrase. 

“Cut it in half and master it” is an idea we would use to refine our focus and perform better than the opponent on game day. To “cut it in half” is in reference to having an array of things to work on. Most any person in any pursuit can relate. The breadth of skills and areas of focus is so vast that it impedes one’s ability to achieve depth in any one area. This is where the “master it” part comes in. 

Baserunning, for example, is nuanced and highly complex. From memorizing “out rules” and building speed to dialing in plays and refining technique, there’s a lot to cover. Anytime Coach (or the players) felt overwhelmed, we’d immediately 1) do less (“cut it in half) and 2) focus deeper (“master it”). 

We’d train like mad men on “leads and breaks” only when it came to baserunning. We would be ruthlessly masterful on our ability to take leads and meticulous on how we’d get breaks (aka get a read on the play and decide what to do). While we relinquished some responsibility for the other areas of baserunning, we’d ultimately be satisfactory in all areas and great in the ones that we decided matters most. 

I don’t know what you, the reader, do for work, but I would bet that you could heed this advice immediately and see benefit.

Do less… more remarkably. 

NOTES:

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