By Doug Sandler, “Nice Guys Finish First”
Do you ever get so caught up in being busy, you forget what you are actually striving to accomplish in your career, business and life? Because every day is game day, take a step back before you enter the locker room, go back to the playbook, examine your game plan, develop a winning strategy and stick to it. Be ready to think like a winner on game day, when X’s and O’s are on the field.
Show up and be ready to play. Training camp, drills, workout regimens and a well balanced diet prepare an elite player for game day, but when it’s “GO” time, feet must hit the field. You can’t play the game from the bench.Stop getting ready and actually do what you know how to do best. That means if you are a salesperson, get out there and start selling. The business won’t just come to you, you have to go and get it. Practice over and over again until you get great. It’s hard to make a sale if you never pick up the phone or go and visit a prospective client. Nothing happens until you sell something.
Make sure players, a ball, and lines are on the field. Imagine a game of football without a ball. Twenty two un-uniformed players line up on an unmarked field, with no lines or goal posts or a scoreboard. The quarterback yells a few words and both teams power up and into action running feverishly in all directions, with no ball on the field. As silly as that seems, do you have a well defined product for your market, do you know who your market even is and do you know what you are trying to accomplish in your day, week, month or year?
Run like you know where you are going and mean it. It’s very hard to accomplish anything without intention. I have had an opportunity to consult with many organizations, and when under closer examination, find the weakest link is a group of employees with no real defined set of daily goals, tasks or activities except to be ready to respond to the needs of both management urgencies or customer issues. If your goal is to be reactive instead of proactive you are letting others determine your goals for you.
Treat everyone on the field with respect. Everyone, including your competition, should be respected. You never know who your network will incorporate in the future. Players should treat the referees, opponents, coaches, fans and teammates with honor and respect. You should treat each person you meet with respect, not only because they all have the ability to potentially make or break your business , but because it’s the right thing to do (A Nicer World Starting Now).
