To start the week I’d like to share a thought I had while doing what I do on the weekend. That’s right: more business lessons from golf. I played with a friend who also happens to be a golf pro and like most people with whom one plays, he shared some things he saw in my swing that I might do differently (meaning a hell of a lot better). Normally, one would reciprocate – “hey, you’re moving your head, you looked up, etc.” Unlike most people, I had very little to tell him about his swing but I did read all the greens for him – we all do what we can!
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The two things he got me thinking about the most to help me play better were also two things I believe are critical to success in business: balance and commitment. The two are related. Without a full commitment to the swing, you “hang back” – you never move your weight forward and through the ball so the shot goes well off line. If you over commit – shift your weight too far forward, you’ll generally pull the ball and it goes just as far off line the other way.
The trick is to maintain balance while fully committing to the swing. While, of course, is exactly the business point. None of us can function well if were half-hearted about what we do. We either need to commit or find something else to do or another company to do it for. We need to make smart choices about projects, partners and people and then commit fully to our decisions. That gives us the best chance to succeed.
That said, we can’t get so caught up in what we do that we lose a sense of who we are – we need to stay balanced. Think about how many folks you know that struggle to do one or the other or both.
Does that make sense, even to you non-golfers?
Consult Keith 