This morning over a cup of much-needed coffee, I was reading an article that resonated with me. It was a story a from a Harvard business professor. He spoke of how they coached an under seven kids’ soccer team, and when they put the ball in the middle of the field what did all the kids do?
“They just followed the ball around the field,”
“But when you become a professional they all have positions on the field, they all have structure. They might pass the ball all the way back to the goalkeeper but eventually, they’d get an opportunity to strike.”
This is a fantastic business analogy. One that I feel is particularly relevant to our business right now. I have seen first-hand in our business where sometimes we have players in assigned positions, yet they’re doing everything but their role, and chasing balls all over the field.
Sometimes, this can be admirable, but it can also be dangerous and lead to inefficiency. It’s the equivalent of everyone on the soccer field running after the ball, which means bumping into each other, and no goals scored.
It’s vital we have clearly defined roles with set out responsibilities in order for our company to function as one. When I started SponsoredLinX, I was the goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack (with my partner Shannah as the coach).
Now, we’ve got a full team and we’re top of the league, but in order to stay there, sometimes we need to go back to basics and work on our fundamentals. This, I believe, is vital for any business.
Remember where you came from, and keep your eye on the ball going forward.
If I’m the striker, I trust my defence to keep the ball in possession so that I may have a chance to score. Of course, there’ll be times when I need to get back to defend, or when we’re chasing a goal and I need the defence to come up, but essentially we’ve all got our own jobs to do.
And, when we’re all doing those jobs independently, but still operating as a team, there’s no stopping us.