WAR. What is it Good For?

More Than You Think in Business and Leadership

Watching a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles (a team with a lot of players with a low WAR)

WAR.

Something we don’t think about enough, professionally.

No, I’m not referring to world events or the classic, The Art of War.

I’m referring to Wins Above Replacement. WAR.

The baseball metric that measures how valuable a player is compared to the “average.”

In sports, we're blessed with an abundance of metrics that make it obvious who's making an impact.

In business? Not so much. Sure, we have easy targets like sales numbers, fuzzier ones like marketing impressions, and others, less visible but vitally important, like days outstanding in accounts receivable.

Some metrics tie directly to an individual. Most don't. They blur across the team.

How do we measure our work WAR?

We hear a lot about A players, B players, and dreaded C players. But there's rarely a numerical value attached to that label. Beyond salary, what's the quantifiable impact you bring compared to the "average" replacement?

Every one of us goes through slumps. Tough games. Rough months. Even whole seasons. That's normal. But over time, what matters most isn't a single at-bat; it's your cumulative contribution.

Ask yourself:

• If I didn't show up tomorrow, what would be missed?

• What's the unique value I create that no "average" replacement could?

• Am I compounding trust, clarity, and results, or am I blending into the noise?

Because WAR isn’t just a baseball stat. It’s a leadership question. A career question. A life question.

When all is said and done, what will your “wins above replacement” be?