Aussies Did Their Homework, Have You?

Sadly, India lost the world cup finals. There are talks about losing the toss that costs India the match, as the batting becoming easier under the lights. It was hard luck for India. Except Rohit Sharma, no one was able to play their shorts freely. Rahul and Virat were cramped. SKY could not connect bat with the ball. With ball, Jadeja and Kuldeep could not deliver.

Australian team today doesn’t have star players like Ponting, Gilchrist, McGrath, Shane Warne, Hayden but still Australia won the test world cup and now 50-50 world cup. If you match Indian players with Australian players one on one, India is far superior. They don’t have Rohit Sharma playing his own brand of cricket in this world cup. They don’t have Virat who has scored 50 tons in one-day. They don’t have SKY, the 360 player. They don’t have Bumrah, Jadeja and Kuldeep then what makes Aussies so formidable?

One thing that stands out was the preparation that Australian cricketers had done. The one thing that we can learn from their victory is their ability to prepare outside the ground. They study every player deeply and find their flaws, their weakness. They bowl every batsman with a plan. They have different field placing, different strategy for every batsman and the bowler. They show that any game is not just about skills and experience, it is about the homework they do outside the ground. They cramped Rahul and Virat who scored well in middle overs during worldcup matches. They exploited Jadeja’s tentativeness outside the off stump. One ball beaten, next out. They played with SKY’s mindset. Three slower balls in a row and Sky trying to hit behind, they even had a fielder if he had connected. SKY could have hit it anywhere but he continued to try to hit behind the wicket keeper. They did not allow Kuldeep and Jadeja to settle. Travis Head took the charge and Marnus played an anchor. On the other hand, Virat and Rahul both slowed down. 5th bowler which was weak link got away with their quote. Rohit on the other hand removed the slip fielder. It could finish the match early or could have got wickets which were crucial.

They predicted the way pitch would behave and played accordingly. They won the toss was luck. The rest that they did was hard work on and off the ground. They used the conditions to their benefit. They were playing not only against India 11 but 1,20,000 spectators in the ground cheering for their team. MS Dhoni was one of those captains who studied the game from behind and planned, and executed, and that gave him extraordinary success.

They second, was their mindset. They are so aggressive. They are a different team in big matches. The way they fielded was amazing. They ran after every ball as if their life depended on it. They stopped couple of boundaries increasing pressure on Gill and Rohit. The way Travis Head ran after the ball that Rohit mishit was worth watching. He was ready to break all his bones for that catch. He ran and fell flat hands extended, yet ball stayed in his hand. He caught the world cup. Boundaries dried up. Batsmen went into their shell. They kept on doing what came naturally to them. They slowed down so that they could hit later but that later didn’t come. They all played for the end which didn’t come. They did not have any plan B. Aussies were ready with their plan A. They did not need plan B. At no point of time did we see India dominate in the final. In first 10 overs the match was kind of tilted in Aussies favour, with three wickets including mind blowing catch. Indians went defensive.

Cricket match is a game of skills, preparation and luck. Yes, that was Australia’s day. A dropped catch, a lucky escape and the match could have changed. First match of world cup, India vs Australia and they dropped Virat that was a game changer. Another 35 odd runs or one more quick wicket and things could have been different for India.

When we talk about luck, we should also remember that Steven Smith could have been not out as the ball seemed to hit him outside off stump. It was a close call.

It is the homework that you do before the game and not just the skills and experience alone will win you the match. When we go for a client meeting, our products and presentation is important. But have we studied clients need? Have we understood his concerns and the possible solutions we can provide? Do we understand their market well? Have you prepared before the meeting?

When you go for a job interview, your skills and experience is important. But have you checked company’s website? Have you understood their vision, mission and their goals. When I was RM for a reputed training company, I used to ask the candidate about my company. Only one answered my question in almost 100 plus candidates that I interviewed.

Do you have the JD and have you understood how your skills and experience can contribute to the organization? Or is only salary package or need for a job driving your decision?

Before launching any product, there is always a survey, understanding how the customers would response and make changes required in the product. Steve Jobs once said in his interview ‘You cannot have a great technology and try to market it. I have made this mistake many times. It is important to understand what is customers need and then build a technology around their need'.

As a facilitator when we go out to deliver any session, how much do we know about the participants? about the organization and their market, their challenges. Are we running our standard program or have we customized the examples and the content? Have we tried to understand the challenges our participants are facing and their mindset? Are we ready to listen to them?

As a leader, are we ready to accept feedback from our subordinates, colleagues or seniors? Are we ready to listen to our customers?

As an employee, am I asking myself, what I need to do to go to next level? What are the skills required and how would I acquire those skills?

To beat your competitors, your knowledge, skills and experience is not enough. You need to do your homework.

#sanjaybgoel #apolloleadership #homework #indiasdefeat #PlanningAndPreparation #aggressiveness #mindsetchangeseverything