The Confidence Game

I remember asking, somewhere along the line, what skills one needed to get into the sales department, where everyone seemed to be better paid and on an expense account (this was quite a while ago).  The answer was something along the lines of “an unwavering belief that your <poop> doesn’t stink and that everyone loves you.”  That came to mind over the weekend on the golf course and reminded me of one of the most important principles in success in both business and golf.

It’s interesting to me that one of the the terms for a scam is a “confidence game.”  The reality is that one needs to gain a client’s or customer’s confidence to have any success at all.  It’s what one does afterward that’s the difference yet the pejorative tone of “con man” makes it seem as if having confidence and putting it out there to people is always a bad thing.

Be Confident! Courtesy The Archivist

I’ve found that the most important thing I can do on a golf course is to have confidence in my swing.  I need to believe the ball will go where I’m aiming, the shot shaped as I planned, and the distance it will carry will be true to the yardages I know I hit various clubs.  Even the tiniest doubt lurking in the back of one’s mind can cause a screaming thought of “STOP!  STOP YOU IDIOT” in the middle of the swing.   You non-golfers will have to trust me; you golfers know the truth and have heard it yourselves.

Business is the same.  While it’s a fine line between arrogance and confidence, you have to believe that the course of action you’re taking or recommending is the right one.  I believe that’s a prerequisite to success.  It’s not that there won’t be bad calls just as there are errant shots.  But part of planning a golf shot is to think about where you can miss safely and contingency plans are part of business as well.

I had someone ask me last week about why I thought how someone plays golf is a great indicator of their business style.  This is yet another example.

How’s your game?  Feeling confident?