Whether you are a sports fan or not, sports offers lessons that we can apply in business. We are in the midst of basketball season. High school basketball finished last month. March Madness college basketball ends tonight. The NBA playoffs are about to begin. Watching some of these games prompted me to think of three lessons that we as businesspeople would be wise to remember.
The first lesson is to set objectives. Be very aware of how you word your objectives, however. A local basketball team that had gone to state last year and lost the first game had a goal of winning a game at state this year. The team accomplished that goal. Disappointingly, the team had to play two games to win the state title. The team lost the second game to a team that had been to state three out of the last four years and had learned to set a goal to win the championship. That team did not want to win one game; that team wanted it all. Both teams achieved their objectives.
After the championship game, a member of the losing team admitted, “We came down here this year determined to win one game. We did that. Next year we want to win the championship.”
The losing team members had already realized their mistake and adjusted their goal for the upcoming season.
The second lesson is execution. In sports and in business, objectives are a part of a game plan. To be effective, that game plan must be executed. This is where many teams and businesses fail. They don’t execute the plan. They don’t maintain their focus. They get distracted by their opponent in sports or their competition in business. Last weekend, I watched Syracuse execute their defensive plan and prevent Marquette from scoring. Conversely, Marquette responded to Syracuse rather than working their game plan.
I was reminded of the Big 10 championship game between Badgers and Nebraska. The game started fast with the Nebraska team pumped up. Nebraska scored a touchdown early. Looking impressive, Nebraska seemed to have the Badgers on the ropes. The Badgers didn’t panic. The team executed their game plan and won the game 70 -31. That first Nebraska touchdown was not significant relative to the Badgers‘ execution of their game plan.
The thinking that goes into a game plan is intended to help team members when they are in the middle of the competition. Likewise, the thinking that goes into a marketing plan is done to assist businesspeople in the daily routine of business. If the game plan or the marketing plan is not executed, it does not provide that help. Lack of execution negates the plan.
The third lesson is to learn from your execution. Review what worked and what didn’t work. Objectives and goals are born from a guess. They are a hope, a wish, a dream. After a game, the team members that review how they achieved or didn’t achieve their goals learn more. In fact, the team members that lose usually learn more than the team members that win. They watch the replay of the game more times. They dig in and figure out what they didn’t do. They focus on improvement.
That happened to the Packers in the 2011 season. At the end of the regular season, they had a 15 -1 record. They had only lost one game. Several of the games they had barely won. In interviews after those games, coaches and players called the game “ugly.” Because the game was a win, the team didn’t learn from their mistakes. This caught up with them the first game of the playoffs. They lost.
Winning has a deceptiveness to it. The team revels in the excitement of the win and doesn’t look at what went wrong. Team members don’t feel a pressing need to discern their weaknesses and work to correct them. Even in a win, a team could have done something better. Not giving attention to those weaknesses eventually will catch up to the team, likely in a playoff situation.
Remember these lessons. Set the objectives you want to achieve and make them part of your marketing plan. Maintain your focus and execute the plan. Learn from your execution and adjust your plan accordingly. These lessons will help your business generate more revenue.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What lesson from sports have you applied to your business? E-mail me your answer.
The first lesson is to set objectives. Be very aware of how you word your objectives, however. A local basketball team that had gone to state last year and lost the first game had a goal of winning a game at state this year. The team accomplished that goal. Disappointingly, the team had to play two games to win the state title. The team lost the second game to a team that had been to state three out of the last four years and had learned to set a goal to win the championship. That team did not want to win one game; that team wanted it all. Both teams achieved their objectives.
After the championship game, a member of the losing team admitted, “We came down here this year determined to win one game. We did that. Next year we want to win the championship.”
The losing team members had already realized their mistake and adjusted their goal for the upcoming season.
The second lesson is execution. In sports and in business, objectives are a part of a game plan. To be effective, that game plan must be executed. This is where many teams and businesses fail. They don’t execute the plan. They don’t maintain their focus. They get distracted by their opponent in sports or their competition in business. Last weekend, I watched Syracuse execute their defensive plan and prevent Marquette from scoring. Conversely, Marquette responded to Syracuse rather than working their game plan.
I was reminded of the Big 10 championship game between Badgers and Nebraska. The game started fast with the Nebraska team pumped up. Nebraska scored a touchdown early. Looking impressive, Nebraska seemed to have the Badgers on the ropes. The Badgers didn’t panic. The team executed their game plan and won the game 70 -31. That first Nebraska touchdown was not significant relative to the Badgers‘ execution of their game plan.
The thinking that goes into a game plan is intended to help team members when they are in the middle of the competition. Likewise, the thinking that goes into a marketing plan is done to assist businesspeople in the daily routine of business. If the game plan or the marketing plan is not executed, it does not provide that help. Lack of execution negates the plan.
The third lesson is to learn from your execution. Review what worked and what didn’t work. Objectives and goals are born from a guess. They are a hope, a wish, a dream. After a game, the team members that review how they achieved or didn’t achieve their goals learn more. In fact, the team members that lose usually learn more than the team members that win. They watch the replay of the game more times. They dig in and figure out what they didn’t do. They focus on improvement.
That happened to the Packers in the 2011 season. At the end of the regular season, they had a 15 -1 record. They had only lost one game. Several of the games they had barely won. In interviews after those games, coaches and players called the game “ugly.” Because the game was a win, the team didn’t learn from their mistakes. This caught up with them the first game of the playoffs. They lost.
Winning has a deceptiveness to it. The team revels in the excitement of the win and doesn’t look at what went wrong. Team members don’t feel a pressing need to discern their weaknesses and work to correct them. Even in a win, a team could have done something better. Not giving attention to those weaknesses eventually will catch up to the team, likely in a playoff situation.
Remember these lessons. Set the objectives you want to achieve and make them part of your marketing plan. Maintain your focus and execute the plan. Learn from your execution and adjust your plan accordingly. These lessons will help your business generate more revenue.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What lesson from sports have you applied to your business? E-mail me your answer.
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