Business Lessons From The World Cup

There is an old saying that I have always liked, “It aint over until the fat lady sings”.  This is as true in sports as it is in business.  It is so easy to prematurely give up when the odds appear to be totally against us. The annals of business are full of stories of small, new, and under capitalized companies being able to overcome the efforts of multinational corporations.

So what does this have to do with the World Cup?

A lot. For one thing, many of the so call powerhouses have not been able to perform as well as it was predicted. In fact a lot of “lesser” quality teams have outperformed better experienced teams.  Case in point was the ability of Team USA to tie England a more experienced team.

Similarly we saw the New Zealand team hold off Italy (the reigning world cup  champions). Now Italy has been completely eliminated from the competition. Imagine that, the former champion is gone.

How Do We Apply What They Did To Our Business.

Have A Game plan

The underdogs had focused on a clearly communicated set of tactics throughout the game.  There were just a few things to focus on.

When we are involved in our game plan we want to have our team focus only on a few directives -not too many as to distract or confuse them. Everyone on our team must know what their role is in achieving those targets.  There is no room for misunderstandings.

Work As A Team

The business must operate as one team where each member is a valuable as the next. Weaker members are helped along by stronger members. There is no room for egocentric players who want all the glory for themselves.  Either the whole team wins or the whole business fails.

Have A Competitive Spirit 

When you look at all the successful teams in the World Cup they all  played their hearts out,
showed respect for their impressive rivals, and didn’t show any fear. We saw this with team USA and how they were able to bounce back from adversity, returning from a two-goal deficit to tie with Slovenia.

Likewise, as business owners we need to find the right
players for our business teams that will have the competitive spirit and play their hearts out. It is up to each business owner to hire and develop their teams to work together as a team, and then provided the right support, coaching and motivation.

Managers Must Accommodate For When The Pressure Builds

Managing a team can be more difficult when every member brings vast experience and a resume of success to the table. Still, a high-profile project can present all-new challenges for even the most experienced employees.

Despite the world-class credentials of the French team, when the pressure peaked, the fallout was tremendous. Managers need to monitor the pressure valve and provide their teams with the tools to stay focused on applying their skills and helping their teammates do the same.

At Bay Area Mastermind, our members and clients are provided with the latest management strategies to increase productivity and performance as well as create that competitive fun environment.

If you would like to learn how to develop a winning team, contact our offices.

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