I hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl last night. Whether your team won or lost, it was a well-played game and this year I thought the game was better than most of the ads. I was rooting for the Giants and took a few precautions to assure their victory. I fished out the seat cushion on which I sat in the stadium in Tampa during the 1991 game when the Giants beat Buffalo. I also put on a shirt I got in 2008 at the game in Phoenix where the Giants beat the Patriots. Of course, I did not put on a cap from the game where the Giants lost to Baltimore – bad mojo, obviously.
I’m pretty sure I’m not getting a ring from the team to thank me for my part in their victory. But as I reflected on the behavior, I realized that we might just behave the same way in business too.
Back when we wore ties, I could always count on my boss showing up wearing a particular red one when there was a big meeting. Sartorial splendor, I came to find out, had nothing to do with it – the tie assured a good result. When you have regularly-scheduled meetings, don’t most people sit in the same place? Comfort and familiarity might be why but maybe there are a few who think they’re messing with the feng shui by changing places. You might have friends who won’t change their socks while in the midst of something that’s going well. Heck, one of the Giants’ owners left blue and white nail polish on his toes (his kids put it there) during the playoff run so as to not mess with karma.
Here’s the thing – the good luck charms might get you in a positive mindset, but as John Milton wrote, “luck is the residue of design,” and as Samuel Goldwyn added “the harder I work the luckier I get.” Great talent is a start, but unless we plan well and keep at it, that talent only gets us so far. You’d be shocked how long and hard many “overnight” successes worked.
I’ll pull out the cushion again the next time the G-men are in the game but I’ll keep working hard on my business and that of my clients in the interim.
Consult Keith 