Baseball’s World Series once again elicits parallels between defining, finding, and developing talent in the sports and business worlds where performance is the key differentiator.

Back in 2003, the book Moneyball showed how the sports world began using basic talent management concepts. In Portfolio’s Homerun Hiring article, a baseball scout shares experiences that work off those ideas:

Look Beyond Looking Good on Paper. The resume used to be the primary source of candidate information. Statistics are not enough anymore. Assessments, certifications, and experience expand the view more holistically. Structured data and smarter screening reduce risk and improve success rates. And quality of hire analytics enable actual hiring batting average measurement.

Define Team Roles and Fill Them. As successful baseball coaches like Augie Garrido will tell you, the key to winning is finding people with passion for the game and putting them in positions where they will succeed. The same is true in business. Aligning talent to business starts with a strategy that envisions outcomes, defines roles, and fills them with talent that matches the organization’s culture.

Keep Feeding the Farm Team. Whether you call it bench strength or a farm team, you need to have development and succession plans in place. Your plan is not unlike a team depth chart that shows where players can play if someone is injured or otherwise cannot play.

Aligning talent to business, defining roles, recruiting, developing, and measuring performance creates an environment where people’s passion for the game can grow and drive overall business performance.

"My job is to put the players in position where they can play at their best. Then, it is up to them." — Augie Garrido