March 22, 2009
What can business learn from sport
Yesterday we saw the Irish team complete a Grand Slam in a stunning display in cardiff, looking on the ropes at 78 minutes gone the Irish team got themselves back up the pitch and worked a drop goal position, took the points and forced themselves back into the lead. Watching the game and the reactions afterwards got me thinking what could we, and other Irish start-ups, learn from these rugby giants.
Team work - Ieland have an unbelievable team ethic, O’Driscoll and O’Connell are the leaders but everyone else pulls their weight.
Never give up - 18 months ago in the world cup as Ireland were nearly beat by Georgia no one could have envisaged that they would be winning a grand slam this soon after. I’m sure lesser players would have thought that any lofty ambitions would be past them, but not this bunch.
Work with people you can trust - Deep in the second half Mark Jones pounded his way through the Irish defence and was facing Stringer. Stringer bounced off Jones as if he wasn’t there, but as Jones headed for line Stringer got back again to stop him. O’Connell commented afterwards on this particular incident and made a point that in the team people are always there for you and they keep coming back.
Position yourself to take advantage of luck - After O’Gara had kicked a later drop goal Stephen Jones had a kick to win the game for Wales, having not missed a kick all day the odds were on him getting it. He didn’t, the whistle blew and Ireland were champions.
Turn disappointment into success - In last years 6 nations D’Arcy took a tackle against the Italians with an arm that was already broken, he thought he might never play again. He recovered and this year he was back and putting himself on the line once again.
It doesn’t happen overnight - It look Ireland a long time to emulate their last Grand Slam and build on recent Triple Crown victories, but they got there in the end.
Ireland won with a display of courage and composure that had been chiselled out over the years from a number of dissapointments and in the end, like everything in life, the line between success and failure was a fine one. In business we expect success too soon, too quick and are not prepared to win the hard yards. Successful businesses get their customers one by one, fight to retain them providing a service that is better than the opposition through commitment, hard work and dedication, just like sport.
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