The Major League Baseball playoffs are heating up and there are just eight teams left competing to bring home the Wold Series Trophy. A common thread runs through each of these teams. When the game is on the line they each rely on their big-time performers to increase their productivity and efficiency. When the lights shine brightest, true champions rise to the occasion. This is not just luck, however. Nor is this truly magic. It comes from being prepared both mentally and physically for the moment. It took each of these teams a full season and a unified team of players, coaches, managers, trainers and front office personnel to make it this far.

Not all of us are lucky enough to be part of a professional baseball franchise, but this philosophy carries over to daily life. We have all dreamed of hitting that walk-off home run in game 7 while we were swinging around a wiffle ball bat in mom’s backyard. What if we haven’t truly outgrown the field, but it merely moved to a new place; our office.

As an employee you are counted on daily to produce quality work for your company. No matter the circumstance, true professionals get the job done. As the employee you are the player. You have a chance to carry the team just like Reggie Jackson did in the 1977 World Series. But Reggie didn’t get to that point all alone. He had a great team around him. Not just players, or in your case employees, but an entire staff of coaches, trainers and personnel.

Productivity is born out of the motivation to work smarter instead of harder. The smarter you work, the more energy and more prepared you will be when your number is called up in a big spot.

Be a difference maker in your company. Be the big-time performer when the game is on the line. Be productive!