I still remember my first cocktail talk at a former employer’s house in New York. It was about how Tom Brady led his team across the field, setting up Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning 48-yard field goal when time expired in the previous Sunday’s game, resulting in the Patriots defeating the Rams. . What the legend of Tom Brady began to build in his long tenure in the NFL.
For a South American boy who grows up playing real soccer and admiring legends like Pelé and Maradona. Football was as strange as my accent sounded to the guys at the cocktail party, as I tried to keep up the football talk.
When you are in Rome you have to act like the Romans do, the adage goes, so I tried to learn everything I could about soccer; terms, teams, players, stats and then I chose a team, actually I chose an entire city: Boston.
With more than 35 championships in their history, the last 15 years have seen the Red Sox lift the curse of Bambino with two championships, the incredible Bruins, the legendary Celtics and the Patriots now show three rings and potentially a fourth after this game. Sunday.
I chose them because they are results-oriented teams. I love Tampa and their teams, but we are not goal oriented so it is hard to get wins. Teams are like business, either you focus on winning or you end up losing. It’s your choice.
In soccer, as in business, you see all the joy flies out the window when the hooves collide and the ball flies across the field on its way to a touchdown. Time is ticking and you need to regroup and push harder than before just to overcome this hurdle called scoring.
You must have the right mind at the right time to push, pull, move and keep moving, you must have the correct strategy that allows you to see the open spaces that the rivals cannot see, the opportunities for sixteen, that will allow you to win this game.
Strategies are important for a soccer team, they are rehearsed a thousand times for just a few seconds of play, those seconds separate a winner from a loser. A coach with great strategies and a good team can still win. Vince Lombardi taught us that.
Companies need strategies and someone to help them implement them. Coaching may come from strange places, but the results are what matter. Take Brady, for example, how he’s surviving in the Not For Long league (as the players call it) by being able to be flexible in his approach and find solutions outside of the football industry. He has a coach who trains MLB pitchers to help him with his pitches, a fitness trainer with a radical approach to help him be on top of his game with fewer injuries.
Do you have a coach? How do you keep up with changes in your industry? What strategies are you implementing to ensure that customers continue to line up at your door like they did 10 years ago? Are you up to date with online advertising and social media? Do you have the Patriots mindset to wait for the next ring or just survive like our beloved Bucs?
No man is an island, we all need help to grow, to see the challenges and opportunities that await us and see what is the best approach to follow. The PROS are looking for every possible help to stay in the game. Deflated soccer balls or not. You, as a business owner, should seek advice to keep competitive advantage within your grasp.
Hire a consultant. Join a mastermind group, subscribe to a paid post that targets your industry. Call another company like yours in uncompetitive areas and pick their brains. Don’t just do one thing at a time, do multiple things, innovate, step out of your comfort zone and you will find, like Tom Brady and the Patriots, the road to victory lines up time and time again.