As I write this, the baseball playoffs have just begun. And it occurred to me that baseball teams offer a few lessons in business management from which we can all take a little batting practice.

Trade shows are cool. They have all the new toys, displays, spokesmodels and problem-solving parts. Everybody knows about that stuff right? It seems to me that one of the most overlooked and valuable parts of a trade show is the part most people don’t attend — the training. This may range from formal, stand-up training to product demonstrations at a booth. In the grand scheme of things, overlooking the often no-additional-charge, educational sessions is missing out on the show.

Too many suppliers are reducing inventory due to the economy, causing a partnership rift.

Shops that cater specifically to either high- or low-end customers, instead of trying to make everyone happy, are finding better aftermarket success.

A victim mentality is affecting the country, and we have the ability to make changes for ourselves.

Lately I've been watching a trend — Icall it the "I can't lose a customer phenomenon" — and it mystifies me. The way some shops and dealers agonize over every customer, even those that aren't profitable, makes me think the parts world has lost its mind. Why do you care? Here is the reality check: you are going to lose some customers, and there is nothing you should do about it.

In times of financial downturns, the first two things to get axed in the interest of cash flow are education and marketing. If you are considering or have already cut in these areas, I hope you will change your mind. Unless you have an older staff, your employees probably have no experience in dealing with market downturns as serious as this one. Many on your staff may be feeling like they are trying to sell snow to Eskimos. How do you get them beyond that and working on creative strategies to weather the storm? Education is the answer — as long as it is handled professionally, strategically and with an appropriate follow-up to make sure any new ideas or processes are implemented properly. Otherwise you might just be wasting time or throwing money at the problem without addressing the underlying conditions.

In many parts of the country people are losing jobs. The reasons range from loss of sales to simply ineffective employees that became more painful to retain than to take the hit on unemployment costs. In the automotive industry we have often struggled to find entry-level workers who have a work ethic that is in alignment with our needs to make a profit along with supplying a paycheck. Many young workers come to us with virtually no skills, terrible driving records, a sense of entitlement and (my personal favorite) no concept of time management.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been hauling around a very pretty, sexy and interesting Keystone catalog that I have every intention of reading. But judging from past experience, I'll probably never get around to it.