In 2023: Attack A Lead, Don't Defend One

There's always a temptation when the going's good to relax and catch you breath.

You can?afford to take your foot off the accelerator right?

Wrong.

Unfort. we've all seen many top sports teams do this and then get beaten by hungrier competitors who take the opportunity that was given - and gifted - to them.

The All Blacks in the early 2000s would often defend their lead and then lose to Australia in the last quarter.

Instead of putting the foot on the throat they choose to defend.

When they did that they gave Australia some breathing room and a bit of space to attack.

And that was a dangerous thing.

Fortunately, since 2003 the All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup for the last 19 years (at time of writing).

They have done this by continually attacking their lead, not sitting back defending one.

Yet I see too many rural companies do exactly this.

They lead and then give up that lead.

They lift their foot off the pedal and cruise a bit.

They think the success of yesterday will do the same for them tomorrow.

Try telling that to boxer Tyson Fury who fell majorly of his newly crowned WBC perch when he beat Wladimir Klitschko.

"I have arrived, so I no longer need to do the work.” was his mental narrative.

Wrong.

Now he's back in his game but he had a massive fall from grace.

Sir Alex Ferguson who managed Manchester United winning 38 major titles said:

"The important part of being a successful team is to avoid complacency. It is a disease that has to be guarded against."

He calls complacency a disease.

And he's dead right.

There's plenty who get afflicted by it.

It's human nature to ease up.

And it's usually the weakest that do so.

You don't need to be Darwin to work out who gets taken out when the going gets tough.

Only the strongest survive because they continually adapt to an ever-changing environment.

At time of writing here late 2022 the world looks like it's in for a bumpy and volatile 23-24.

Whether you're reading this now or later, your mindset will always matter.

You don't need the famous reminders of companies like Blockbuster, Nokia or Polaroid who got complacent.

Even Netflix now are struggling to hold onto their lead with subscribers numbers down and their share price tanking by 35%.

Maybe they got complacent too?

What got you here won't get you there.

Always dominate.

You work so hard to get to where you are.

So never let up.

Keep going, keep training, keep getting better.

It's how you will survive the storms ahead.

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