We hear a lot about anger management, and there have even been movies about it.
But I’m not convinced anger is always something to be defused.
For instance, I remember that time when I was 11, on the Little League All-Stars, and riding the bench until the final moments of the final game. Only then, did my pasty coach put me in, with two outs and my friend, Alex, standing on first.
Initially, I refused to leave the dugout; I was that peeved I was passed over as a player until that time.
Then, I decided to take my anger out on the ball. A wild child, I strode to the plate.
On the third pitch, I ripped into it.
It was “a rope,” a line drive to the wall. It got there in about half a second of flight. A few inches higher, and it would have been a home run.
Breathless but vindicated, I had a pinch-hit, stand-up double, knocking Alex in, and that ignited a rally, that just fell short of tying the game.
The following year, I led the league in hitting and just missed being the home-run king as well. In fact, according to the President, I set a national record or two.
The same coach led the All-Star team.
He saw the light.
I started every game.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone®, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone! and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
