In his younger days Denys Shortt played international hockey for England.
At a young age whilst playing internationals he also became a coach (age 17). This was a great learning lesson for him - learn how to teach others and maybe you will become a better player was his philosophy. It worked !
Whilst lerning to be a coach was learning training at a high level, understanding how to win, tactical play, discipline, teaching people older than himself and so much more. In sport your coach teaches you how to play the game. During a competitive match that same coach will discuss strategy before the game. The coach will watch videos of your opposition, learn about them and formulate a strategy. During the match the coach may change players positions, advise players as they play ....... all of which will hopefully help win the match. After the game the team will have a debrief and may even watch a video of what they did well and what they did badly. Well all of the above applies to business ! In business it is vital to start off with a business plan. It is vital to change that plan as you learn more, and just like the sporting match - change it and adapt to win. Identify your competition - study them. Identify your customer - study them too ! Learning from winners is useful. In the same way I used to learn alot from watching videos of world champion sports teams - you can learn from studying a world class businesses too. Study Google, Apple Computers, Virgin Atlantic, all of those companies you admire. One thing is for sure - all businesses have a lifecycle. Learn from the best and aim to be better than them. If you believe you can beat some of the world's best brands - there is a chance you probably can ! Remember .....even the biggest brands take their eye off the ball ! Just like in sport - in business WINNING feels great ! |