Jeff McLanahan
Contributing Writer
Service Experts/Enercare
Congratulations to the World Series Champions, the Houston Astros! Even with baseball season ending, the sports season is in full swing with basketball, hockey and football still going strong.
Most of us have a favorite team we cheer for and we use a lot of sports analogies, but we can also learn a few things from our favorite team, such as how to operate a successful business.
1. Great sports teams have a game plan. No great team goes out each week and tries to wing it. They work in a competitive environment and if they are not prepared and follow a plan, anything can happen on a given day or night.
Yet not every business has a business plan and worse yet, of those that do only about 15{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} actually follow their plan. The excuses are numerous; we have to remain flexible, the environment is crazy, the political election has changed everything, El Niño makes the weather unpredictable.
The fact is we may need to remain flexible and adapt to ever-changing conditions, but if we do not have a business plan to work from, what are we flexing or adapting from? We are not being flexible and adaptable; we are making it up as we go along. Is that how we want to operate? I don’t think so. To quote sports legend Coach John Wooden, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
If you managed to make it through this much of the year without a business plan, congratulations. Now, start formulating a business plan for the upcoming year and share this plan with your team.
2. Great sports teams draft great players. They do extensive testing and interviews during the NFL Combine and draft players that can do the job they’re being hired to do. They also choose players that are a good fit for their team.
What does your selection process look like? Are you doing any form of pre-employment testing? Do you have multiple interviews with multiple people within your organization? Do you supply a copy of the job description so the applicant can see what is expected of them at your business? Or, do you start off your interview with, “So tell me about yourself” and when you discover they have previous experience in your field, make them an offer to start that week?
If you do not yet have a systematic approach for selecting talent to join your team, include this in your business plan. Roll out the process in stages if necessary, and expect some bumps in the road. I know many managers that swear they can tell if an employee will work out within minutes of them walking through the door. Don’t bet the future success of your business on this type of fortune telling and gambling. Implement a process, gather information on candidates, and make sure they are a good fit for you and you are a good fit for them.
3. Great sports teams know what they do well, and they practice, practice, practice. Even after hiring talented individuals, they still need to learn the playbook and practice the plays. I know what Allen Iverson say about practice, but he and I will simply need to disagree.
As things change, our teams must adjust, or get left behind. Take a few minutes every day to train and develop your people. Make it a habit! As little as 10 to 15 minutes per day in a morning huddle, can set your team up for success. Review items that created an issue with a customer the previous day, discuss an upcoming promotion and role-play how to present it, or have one of the team share a best practice on making an add-on sale. In any case, great teams practice.
The sports season is heating up while the temperature is cooling off. Keep your great team in the game with regular learning and development opportunities.