I have just returned from a morning walk to clear a foggy head and I got a blinding flash of clarity on the walk. My mind was foggy because I was grappling with a large number of interconnected opportunities, constraints, activities and desires. Fortunately for me I was somehow reminded of the story about Vince Lombardi whose legendary line before every training session with his professional, championship winning teams was to hold a football aloft and state, “Gentlemen. This is a football.”
Ladies AND Gentlemen. This is a great philosophy!
He started each season with a back-to-basics review of the rules and how the aim of the game was to get the ball over the line and score MORE points than the opponents did. That really is the NFL in a nutshell. Score some points and when you concede fewer than you score and you will win. Your business has at its core a similar simplicity. We just choose to make it more complicated than that most of the time.
The lesson is simple. Even the best go back-to-basics and do so frequently. It provides clarity and focus.
I will be coaching a client later today. Before I left their office last week I wrote on their whiteboard “Gentlemen. This is a football!” because they don’t currently have that clarity of what their purpose is or what their goals are. I know that they will be keen to find out more about what I meant. This week we’ll address that issue.
Success will have been achieved in my mind when both partners enter the office each day and say something like “Good morning Dave, This is a football!” It won’t be a quick process. The thing about setting your own goals and purpose in life is that there isn’t an equivalent of the NFL to set rules and decide on what is fair. It’s your job to decide the rules and how many points you get for certain milestones. That fact comes with liberty and responsibility in equal measures. Just make sure that in your game of life and business you score some points and concede fewer. That way you win.
So I have a question for you today. What is your equivalent of a football? What is the most basic element of your business? Start there.
For me as a business coach I like to look at it this way. “Good morning world – this is profitable contribution!”
Observations from a Business Insider
Gentlemen. This is a football!
May 2, 2012 5 Comments
I have just returned from a morning walk to clear a foggy head and I got a blinding flash of clarity on the walk. My mind was foggy because I was grappling with a large number of interconnected opportunities, constraints, activities and desires. Fortunately for me I was somehow reminded of the story about Vince Lombardi whose legendary line before every training session with his professional, championship winning teams was to hold a football aloft and state, “Gentlemen. This is a football.”
Ladies AND Gentlemen. This is a great philosophy!
He started each season with a back-to-basics review of the rules and how the aim of the game was to get the ball over the line and score MORE points than the opponents did. That really is the NFL in a nutshell. Score some points and when you concede fewer than you score and you will win. Your business has at its core a similar simplicity. We just choose to make it more complicated than that most of the time.
The lesson is simple. Even the best go back-to-basics and do so frequently. It provides clarity and focus.
I will be coaching a client later today. Before I left their office last week I wrote on their whiteboard “Gentlemen. This is a football!” because they don’t currently have that clarity of what their purpose is or what their goals are. I know that they will be keen to find out more about what I meant. This week we’ll address that issue.
Success will have been achieved in my mind when both partners enter the office each day and say something like “Good morning Dave, This is a football!” It won’t be a quick process. The thing about setting your own goals and purpose in life is that there isn’t an equivalent of the NFL to set rules and decide on what is fair. It’s your job to decide the rules and how many points you get for certain milestones. That fact comes with liberty and responsibility in equal measures. Just make sure that in your game of life and business you score some points and concede fewer. That way you win.
So I have a question for you today. What is your equivalent of a football? What is the most basic element of your business? Start there.
For me as a business coach I like to look at it this way. “Good morning world – this is profitable contribution!”
Filed under Exit Strategy, General thoughts and comments, Goal Setting Tagged with clarity, goals, Leadership, simplicity, success, Vince Lombardi