Pick up a jersey
March 10, 2010
If you know me personally you’ll know that I’m not that much into sports. I played soccer in my pre-teen years, but not much thereafter. I enjoy watching a good game of soccer, tennis, and other sports – but that’s only if I happen to come across it playing on tv. I don’t really schedule this into my calendar, if you catch my drift.
What I do prefer is activities that get adrenalin pumping. So I’ve done bridge jumping, recently been on a (mega fast) speed boat, and sky diving and other items are next on the agenda!
Team sports interest me though, because I am fascinated by the team dynamic. Every person is important in the team, and working together is essential for success. I believe the same is true for business, as well as social communities. In this regard, John Wooden comes to mind. I first heard about him on a talk by Anthony Robbins, and then I saw this video of him at TED.com. Wooden (now 99 years old) was a phenomenal basketball coach. He was the first person ever (and then followed by Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman) to be a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (1961) and as a coach (1973). As a coach, he is still unmatched for winning 10 NCAA National Championships in a 12 year period while at UCLA. The significant difference about Wooden is that he focused on “coaching for people, not points” – so it didn’t matter if the team won or lost – he was interested in whether the individual player won or lost. Did that player play his best game, even if the team lost? Did that player play his worst game, even if the team won? What an interesting perspective!
A few months ago I attended a soccer match with my cousins and their kids. We watched a bunch of kids – around 10-12 years old – enjoy their Saturday afternoon in the best manner they knew how. Someone (I think it was a parent) yelled to one of the kids “Pick up a jersey.” Perhaps I had heard the phrase before, but that was the first time I had actually taken serious note. Immediately, I made a note on my iPhone, under “Blog Post Ideas” – yeah, I’m that type of geek!
The little kid was told to “target” a player of the opposing team, to focus only on that player. The opposite of this would be to tell the kid “Target everyone” – forcing him to run all across the field like a maniac. This is not the way team sports are played. I think businesses should learn from this. Too often we try to “Target everyone” instead of using the “Pick up a jersey” strategy. We’ve all fallen into this trap – at some time or another.
When trying to win clients, we sometimes “adapt” just so that we can get the business. This – in the long term – is not good. We lose focus, and we spend time building experience in areas which are not part of our purpose and ultimate vision. Anthony Robbins refers to this as trying to speak to all the trees in the forest – instead of the biggest trees, and the trees that are the best fit for us.
A very bold woman, and a very dear friend of mine, Jo Duxbury, has conquered this. Jo runs Freelancentral as well as Peppermint Source (please check out these websites, Jo really rocks!). A few days ago Jo said this on Twitter: “Turning away work because the clients do not fit my target profile is a uncomfortable, but sticking to my guns is best for both me and them.” You can view the original tweet here.
This idea is so essential as business advances and as global markets open up. All of us can’t be everything to everybody, we really need to focus. We need to find what it is that we do best, and then just do that!
Photo credit: bethcanphoto
