Benchmarking Brilliance: Roger Maris’ Legendary Pursuit and Business Success

Introduction

For 34 years, Babe Ruth’s legendary record of 60 home runs in a single season stood as the gold standard in baseball. Then in 1961, Roger Maris shattered that mark with 61—setting a new bar for excellence. Maris didn’t just aim to improve his own past performance; he benchmarked against the ultimate standard of his time. For today’s CFOs, the lesson is clear: internal progress is valuable, but true competitive advantage comes from measuring against the best in the industry.

The Power of Looking Beyond Yourself

Leading up to 1961, Maris’ home run totals fluctuated—14 in 1957, 39 in 1960. If he had only focused on his own trajectory, he may never have believed 61 was possible. Instead, by aiming at Babe Ruth’s benchmark, he pushed past his own historical limits.

In business, CFOs face a similar challenge. Companies often celebrate year-over-year improvements—say, EBITDA margin rising from 10% to 11%. Yet when industry peers average 15%, this “progress” still masks a competitive gap. Without external benchmarks, the company risks complacency and missed opportunity.

Benchmarking Through EBITDA Margins

EBITDA margin—a measure of operating profitability—is a metric boards, lenders, and investors scrutinize. It tells the story not just of revenue growth, but of efficiency, discipline, and resilience.

• If your margin is 12% while the industry average is 15%, you’re leaving millions on the table.
• If your margin is 18% while peers average 15%, you hold a competitive advantage that should be protected and leveraged in negotiations, capital raising, or pricing strategy.

Just as Maris redefined what was possible in baseball, benchmarking EBITDA margins against industry standards redefines what is achievable in business performance.

A Boardroom Perspective

For boards, context matters as much as progress. Hearing that EBITDA margin improved by 1% year-over-year is encouraging, but hearing that the company outperforms (or lags) industry peers by 3% reframes the conversation. It changes the board’s perspective from “we’re improving” to “are we winning?” That framing influences capital allocation, growth strategies, and even CEO credibility.

Conclusion

Roger Maris’ pursuit of Babe Ruth’s record wasn’t about beating his own numbers—it was about surpassing the benchmark that defined greatness. CFOs must adopt the same mindset. By focusing on industry benchmarks like EBITDA margin, they gain the clarity to identify true performance gaps, unlock untapped earnings, and communicate with boards and investors in the language that matters most: competitive advantage.