Starting Quickly - The Holy Grail of Performance.....

Anyone out there have a secret for getting a team to start quickly?  In the workplace?  On a baseball field?  Anyone?  Bueller?...

I've got two sons.  I coach their baseball teams.  My oldest is 7 now, and I've learned that's the time that youth baseball leagues start getting competitive (I know, 7!...).  My 7 year old's team had a good start to their season, winning their first two games.  Then we came out late last week, and..... STARTED SLOW....

It was 8-1 before they knew the game had started....

You've seen it before with important projects, with individual employees in your workplace, and of course, in every team sport.  The goal is to win (or to perform at a high level), and everybody gets that.  You've laid out the goals, practiced the skills you need, and talked about the importance of starting quickly.

Then the lights go on, and your team/employees have zero momentum.  They are behind from the start, which history tells us dramatically reduces the chances of winning, however defined. 

The first inning of the game, the first 3 months of your job, doesn't matter.  Start slow, and you are in trouble...

Let me know if you have a surefire way to ensure fast starts - on the baseball field or in the workplace.  Shock therapy and going Bob Knight proponents need not apply....