Another business lesson from Golf – Decision taking

So you play golf a bit, and then you watch Rory win a major or Darren win a major and there’s a world of difference between what you do and what they do. Oh yes, you imagine you can play to the heart of the green from 210 yards every time, but somehow you rarely make it in just the one shot.

So when you stand on the tee with a driver in your hand (the same club with which you have, on the last 2 occasions, sliced out of bounds) are you sure you are making the right decision? Getting the ball around in the fewest shots is not about hitting the ball further than Luke or Lee, its about making the right decisions based on your ability, the conditions, and the hazards that lie in the way. Sure I could hit the ball 250 yards but in 250 yards there’s a stream so why would you want to?

In business there are many opportunities to strategise, to plan and to execute. You need to heed the conditions, your abilities (and those of your team) and have a clear view of the potential hazards that lie in the way. Sure you could spend £10k on an advertising campaign because you saw another company do it. Well I saw Rory take a wedge from 150 yards and there’s no way that’ll work for me, I need a 7 iron.

So you want to plan your way forward and are looking for the best way to do it. I have talked about this before but I have delivered many projects by:

• Starting with mission statements that define the purpose of the organization and describe what sets it apart from others in its sector or industry.
• Producing vision statements which define where the organization is going, to provide a clear picture of the desired future position.
• Build these into a clear business strategy thereby deriving the project objectives.
• Defining behaviours that will enable the organization to achieve its' aims.
• Producing key performance measures to track progress.
• Relating efficiency improvements to the culture of the organization
• Identifying initiatives that will improve performance.

Once these building blocks are in place, the execution of the plan can begin.

In the meanwhile, I’ll stick with the 6 iron off the first tee, followed by a 9 iron and then a single putt, and that’s a birdie 3 at the first….. well it’s a plan!