GOLF LESSONS FOR BUSINESS
Champion golfer Phil Mickelson (43 PGA wins, including 3 Masters titles) says choosing the right club for the situation is the first step to success in any situation. Wrong club, and you’ll miss the mark, no matter how well you swing.
The same is true in business. To succeed, you need to choose the right tools. That tool may be a hiring decision or a type of software. More often than not, its also the right attitude. If one looks at the game of golf long enough, there are parallels to the entrepreneurial career. Here are five such lessons.
1. It’s harder than you thought, and that’s OK.
Even with experience, running a business is hard. Looking at the pros (in golf and in business), it seems effortless, but it’s not. It takes time, patience, and practice. Rare is the athlete or business leader who reached great success without years of painstaking, often repetitive, honing of skills – a process that often takes place away from the spotlight. Stay focused on the big goals.
2. To Win, You Need A Strategy
Many of history's greatest players, like Jack Nicklaus, walk the course before playing a single shot. They did this to get the layout of the course, know the hole positions and discover any potential problems. After doing this, top players will go back and develop a strategy for how they will attack the course. Often times, players will have a strategy for how they play each and every hole. The same is true for the entrepreneur. You should strongly consider building strategies for individual projects, your first year, three years, five years, and beyond.
3. Do what you’re meant to do
Pros don’t carry their bags – at least not in tournaments. Their focus is on finishing the course in fewer strokes than anyone else. Many caddies are also talented and even accomplished golfers, but their best contribution is carrying the bag and helping the professionals talk through difficult shots. Every business owner needs to surround himself with people that help him function at peak. Even solo-preneurs can outsource tasks that will free up their time to do more productive things for their business.
4. Tough times never last
There’s probably no golfer that will tell you they’ve ever played “a perfect round.” Even the best rounds usually have one or two shots that put players in a difficult spot. The key is not to let one or two bad shots color the ones that come after. If you are running your own business, there will be [unpleasant] surprises and unwanted setbacks from time to time. Don’t let a bad break here or there take you mentally out of the game.
5.Start fast or start slow, but finish strong.
In golf, you have the front nine and back nine -- 18 holes. Avid golf fans and the pros themselves will tell you that championships are often decided on the back nine. Many business owners, especially entrepreneurs, get down on themselves if they don’t start out "on fire." Doubts fill their minds and they may question themselves and their decisions. Rather than get flustered, look at your processes, and make adjustments midway (or wherever necessary). Stay in the game and find a way to finish strong.