Jim Rembach maps pitching mechanics to corporate execution in new book

A former pitching coach and executive is using baseball biomechanics to explain why organizations lose momentum between strategy and frontline work. His new book, released Oct. 12 and now an Amazon best seller in two business categories, argues that companies pay twice when execution drifts.

Why it matters: - Jim Rembach’s new book links sports mechanics to a business problem that can erode profit, speed and execution quality. - The Drift Tax argues that organizations often spend once to design performance and again to recover it when systems drift. - The book frames execution loss as a recurring cost that can show up across finance, operations, human resources and strategy.

What happened: - Rembach, a certified baseball pitching coach and executive director of the Leadership Execution Institute, published The Drift Tax: Why Organizations Pay Twice for the Same Performance and How to Stop on Oct. 12, 2026. - LEI Press released the book, which is an Amazon best seller in two business and management categories. - The release coincides with the professional baseball championship, which millions of fans will follow this week. - Rembach applies pitching biomechanics to corporate execution and uses the pitcher’s kinetic chain as the book’s central metaphor.

The details: - The book opens with the idea that a 95-mile-per-hour fastball does not come from the arm alone. - Rembach writes that force starts in the ground and moves through the legs, hips and torso before reaching the hand. - The book traces the kinetic chain idea to orthopedic surgeon Arthur Steindler, who described human movement as an interconnected system. - Rembach calls his business framework the Kinetic Chain of Execution. - In that model, strategy becomes the legs, structure becomes the hips, management becomes the torso, and frontline work becomes the arm. - The book says execution works best when each link amplifies the next one. - When one link fires out of order, the pitcher compensates with the arm. - The book argues that organizations do the same thing when pressure shifts to frontline teams while the real breakdown happens earlier in the handoffs between strategy, structure and management. - Rembach writes that pushing harder with the arm increases injury risk in pitching, and that corporate teams face a similar load when leadership tries to force better results at the last step. - The Drift Tax is defined as the cumulative cost organizations absorb when behavioral stability decays after investment. - The book says that cost appears as margin compression, productivity variance, turnover and delayed timelines. - James K. Weeks, dean emeritus and professor emeritus of the Bryan School of Business and Economics at UNC Greensboro, says Rembach has identified a missing line item that drives costly decisions. - Weeks says execution failure stems from erosion of systems and standards, including in strong teams. - Rembach says when a company pays again for performance it already funded through consultants, coaching, program relaunches or replacement hiring, the expense usually lands in operating expense. - He says that places the cost inside EBITDA, a metric private equity firms track and venture capital investors watch as portfolio companies scale. - Rembach also says large corporations see the cost recur across divisions and budget cycles. - He contrasts that with baseball teams, which track pitch counts to manage the workload on pitchers they have invested in. - Corporate financial statements do not show a comparable line for whether paid-for performance is still being delivered. - Rembach has coached pitchers since age 22. - He has had six shoulder surgeries, starting at age 19 after a torn rotator cuff. - In 2020, he completed the SAVAGE Pitching Coaches Certification. - Rembach says that training reinforced the idea that movement does not change through information alone and that each pitcher needs an assessment and a personalized development plan. - His business background spans three decades in complex operations, including the contact center industry. - Rembach also hosts the Fast Leader Show.

Between the lines: - The book is aimed at leaders who want a simple model for why strategy often fails to reach the front line intact. - By borrowing from sports medicine and biomechanics, Rembach gives an old management problem a physical, measurable analogy. - The investment angle is notable because the book reframes execution drift as a hidden financial drag rather than a soft culture issue.

What's next: - The Drift Tax is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audiobook through Amazon and major retailers. - The book includes the Drift Tax Diagnostic, a 10-statement assessment that produces an Architecture Score. - The diagnostic is also available at no cost at the company’s website. - Excerpts and additional details are posted at the company’s website. - Review copies and interviews are available on request.

The bottom line: - Rembach’s pitch-mechanics analogy turns execution drift into a measurable business problem with real cost, not just a leadership slogan.