I’m not a regular golfer, but I enjoy getting out when I can. I played in a charity tournament recently and had a lot of fun, despite the challenges of a difficult course due to scorching heat and heavy rains the night before. In some areas, the ball was rolling very slowly because it was wet and in some areas it was fast because the sun dried the ground quickly.
Golf, like business, doesn’t always have perfect conditions. In fact, it’s rare to experience perfect greens and fairways. One of the conditions we’re all experiencing in business today is a terrible economy. It seems to be the main topic at many meetings and events lately. I’d like to share my views on the subject, and anyone who knows me won’t be surprised that there’s a few golf analogies mixed in. Whether you golf or not, I think it will make sense.
What I won’t provide in this article is golf tips! Believe me, you don’t want them from me so I’ve asked Bryan, one of our engineers and the best golfer in the office to give us some advice on improving our game. Click here to read his tips.
So here’s my analogy… If you’re a business owner, picture yourself as the golfer. Your business is the golf course and the economy is the weather. It’s your job to get the ball into the hole with the least amount of swings as possible. If you’re good at what you do and the conditions are perfect, this isn’t too difficult. But when the weather affects the course with too much or too little rain, your game will definately be affected. In these situations you can choose to continue playing as you always have and be frustrated or make the adjustments needed to improve your game.
From personal experience, I know that when I’ve complained about a rough fairway or slow greens, it never helped me improve my score! I’ve also learned that in business when I stop griping about things I can’t change and start focusing on ways to grow my business, I score much better. Here are some adjustments that I’ve found helpful for me during these times:
Find A Secret Weapon. While at the tournament, my golf partner found himself in a really tough spot. He immediately pulled out his secret weapon – a driver that he saves for situations just like that. He invested some money on this driver, but he knew it could save him a lot of strokes and frustration so it was worth it. At Synergy, we’ve invested in productivity tools that have helped us streamline our work and improve customer service. It wasn’t cheap, but has become an invaluable resource for us.
Keep Your Head Down and Your Eye on the Ball. One thing I learned at my first golf lesson was tokeep my head down. My tendency in golf is to look up to see where the ball is going as it’s being hit. If I do this, I top the ball almost every time so I try hard not to. In the same way, I don’t spend a lot of time trying to guess where the economy is going or thinking about things I can’t change. Instead, I work hard to meet new customers and make sure I don’t lose the ones I have. These are the efforts that help me reach the vision I have for my company.
Change Your Course. As a golfer, I can’t really change the course I’m playing. As much as I’d like it to be much wider with no sand or water, it just isn’t going to happen. But as a business owner, I own my course! A bad economy proved to be a great time for me to be innovative. I reexamined what I was selling and how I was selling it. I have had success since introducing a new brand, marketing, and approach to sales. It wasn’t how we used to do things, so it took time to get used to. But it was a necessary change I had to make in order to stay competitive.
Golfer Bob Toski once said, “Most golfers prepare for disaster. A good golfer prepares for success.” Even in the worst conditions, we all need to have a vision of success for our businesses and spend our energy preparing for it.
You are invited to an event we’re hosting on October 13, 2011 — THE MAGIC OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE. Keynote speaker, Ron Noden, specializes in helping business owners reach the full potential of their businesses. Ron is one of my most valuable business resources and I guarantee you don’t want to miss this opportunity to hear from him. Also speaking is Linda Taddonio from Insite Software, a Synergy client and very intelligent business owner who has grown her company during these tough times. I will also be speaking during the event, so you won’t want to miss that for sure!
We have room for 150 guests and will be sending out the official invitation soon so don’t want too long to register! Click here to learn more about the event and reserve your spot in advance.
