GOAT - and the Sheep Learns

One of the greatest sportsmen of the modern era has announced his retirement. This article is a takeaway for me - the sheep - from Roger Federer, the GOAT’s life and times. For the sake of readability and cohesion, I have culled out five gleanings I will build upon.

1.??????Chasing numbers, chasing greatness.

2.??????Grunting is sexy. Well, grunt work certainly is.

3.??????Gentlemanly behaviour in a world that pushes one frequently to be beastly.

4.??????Earnings outside of one’s main purview – can be distracting.

5.??????Injuries can cripple. Calibrating expectations, afterwards.

The first one – chasing numbers while chasing greatness.

After winning the 2017 Australian Open, Federer’s record stood at 18 Grand Slam Men’s Single tournament titles. In 2018, he would go on to win 2 more taking his final tally to 20, a mythical number of sorts. At that time, after 2018, Nadal was at 17 and Novak at 14. Clearly, Federer in terms of numbers had pulled away and staked his claim to the GOAT title. Well, to be sure, he did it much earlier. But today, the numbers have changed radically: There are now three contenders. Nadal is at 22 (having won 5 more titles) and Djokovic is at 21 (seven more from that time). Now both these greats are 36 years of age (approximately) so they have at least 3 to 4 years ahead. This means they are in all likelihood, set to take their tally to 24 or even 25. If that happens, this debate about who is the greatest will fade away. After all, who can argue with such numbers? Novak will probably play fewer tournaments due to his disinclination to get vaccinated, and Nadal may be diluting his priorities, even a wee bit because of parenthood. He hasn’t been injury-free either. And, of course, newer players will come aboard. While 24 or 25 looks doable on paper but even for super-athletes of this class, it may prove to be a stretch.

Takeaway – Greatness is short-lived. Numbers matter. This may be good learning for people on the fast-track corporate career growth trajectory. No matter what, the mantle will eventually slip away. Make hay when the sun shines and remain vigilant on numbers. We don’t have to be like that but then, we must know what we are chasing - mediocrity or greatness? And it’s perfectly fine to chase the former but while doing so we shouldn’t expect the same kind of adulation & rewards that are heaped on the latter.

The second one - grunting is sexy. Well, grunt work certainly is ????

Roger Federer got his first wild card entry in 1998. When he won his first Grand Slam title (Wimbledon 2003), many of the modern-day contenders were barely a few months old. Beyond superhuman skill, career longevity is about consistent work over several decades, with a definitive goal. When one is young, the body can withstand long hours of grunt work, and this is short-lived. As we age, staying fit and disease-free can be challenging. And if we miss out on the work (consistent) early on, we rob ourselves of resilience which we will need at a later point. ?

Takeaway - Professional sportsmen train about 5 or 6 hours daily for six days a week. Others who fall by the wayside do not train as consistently. On average, corporate folks work (clock in) about 8 to 9 hours a day for five days but there’s no comparison in intensity. Some roles are more hard-wired while others are more human-centred which is also a skill (soft skill?). Acquiring skills that reach magical proportions takes many..many..many.. hours and many…many… many years as well. There’s a raging debate about why employees should not be forced to work long hours (18?) and while undeniably there’s merit in this line of thinking, young people should not discount the extreme importance of building skills through long grunt hours. Again. It’s fine to not do so but a path to greatness rarely has an exception in this regard. Mediocrity or greatness? Both have their rightful place in the sun. We must choose wisely but be informed about each pathway.

The third one – is gentlemanly behaviour practical where aggression is seen as more rewarding?

Federer back as a teenager had temper issues. He would throw down his racquet in exasperation after losing a point and vent out his frustration. He realized this was wrong. It was expending his energy uselessly and blemishing his personality. He chose to transform and what he became afterwards is the stuff of legends. He is not only the GOAT in terms of skill but also the game’s greatest brand ambassador. Parents would want their children to demonstrate his kind of exemplary behaviour, both on and off-court.

Takeaway – There’s a slight problem with this line of thinking. On a great man/woman, gentlemanly (or lady-like for women) behaviour is hugely respected and is seen in awe. But for strugglers, this is often perceived as a weakness and people try and take advantage of it. Humans don’t become great overnight, so the challenge is about displaying exemplary behaviour even in the face of great adversity. There’s a clip of Federer and Nadal playing from their respective baselines and engaging in an intense rally. It goes on and on and every short is fiercely reciprocated by the other. Finally, Roger Federer wins, and he looks at Nadal with naked aggression as he pumps his fists vigorously. You can sense the smouldering fire in Federer’s eyes, and you know, who is the boss at that point. Good humans can (and should) display naked aggression but they often choose to use it sparingly. With great skill, one acquires unmatchable confidence and that’s probably why such individuals don’t have to behave boorishly to stamp their authority. At the same time, there are highly successful people (geniuses even) in every field who behave detestably most of the time. They will throw things at you. They will abuse you and being in their presence can be a traumatic experience. But they are no less respected – it’s their genius that finally covers up for all other ills. The rest of us who live ordinarily, will not be remembered for our achievements but for our behaviour. If at all. As I said earlier – the mantle will eventually slip away, and the emperor will be seen naked. What matters then, will be – how did my emperor make me feel?

The fourth one - earnings outside of one’s main purview can be distracting.

Roger Federer’s career earnings (approximately) are to the tune of 1 billion dollars. Maybe it’s a lot more that he hasn’t told me about. Be that as it may, this figure can be broken down into two heads – match winnings and endorsements. He has earned about 130 million dollars from winning tournaments and about 870 million more from endorsements. Clearly, endorsements grossly outweigh. Of course, this kind of skewed earning is applicable to people like him and it’s not really our problem. Most of us will not superficially (though apologetically) endorse anything more critical than green tea. ?

Takeaway – there’s a lot of chitchat going on about moonlighting and whether that should be allowed. The house is divided. Earlier, one of the leaders from a very large IT Services company went on record to say it’s cheating, whereas yet another said that it may be the new reality and organizations will need to factor this in while planning for the future of work. Disclosure, transparency, client confidentiality, data privacy and similar sounding sexy words get dropped in every conversation. When I get bored which is very often, I make sentences with such words – transparency while having a bath is mandatory (government-mandated) and it’s a Sunday, so full disclosure is also recommendatory. Gibberish but disruptively interesting and it gives the impression that I know a lot. ???

On the one hand, we have a tribe, clamouring for work-life balance (or is it integration on a tightrope?) and on the other, we have another (tribe?) – though I believe these two sets also intersect – wanting to moonlight and run their own agency full steam ahead. I don’t get it sometimes. Is the argument about not wanting to work 16 hours a day in one job but working two jobs of 8 hours each or am I missing something? They remind me of double agents during the Cold War – the kind who would work for the KGB in their day jobs and “moonlight” for MI5 after work hours, or vice versa. Partitioned by the Iron Curtain to ensure client confidentiality, I reckon.

There are too many pathways to distraction even for the lot which endorses green tea. And longevity in careers is going to be about remaining super-focussed on what is one’s truth. Can there be multiple truths at one time for an individual? Ah, I wish they’d legalize polygamy. ????

The last one – timing

Roger Federer has faced career-threatening injuries and that’s why he wasn’t able to take his final tally to 23 or 24 like Margaret Court. He has played thousands of games in his career and has never retired from a game, hurt. The other two have done it a few times. If you have followed his career, you will know that there were many many matches where he was wincing in pain. He chose to carry on giving total disregard to his broken body. What if he had chosen to withdraw from such a game - would it have done lesser damage to his body and thereby prolong his most remarkable career by a few more years? We will never know. He chose the proverbial sportsman’s spirit over everything else.

Takeaway – ordinary mortals will also face career-threatening injuries in the form of setbacks or obstacles – illness, sedentary lifestyle disorders, personal tragedy, job loss, redundancy, etc. All of these, singly or in combination, can cripple. And they will happen. An average career spans 40-odd years so how can one keep these things at bay? How we function after it has happened, is going to be a key ask. Expectations will have to be re-calibrated just as sportsmen change their style after a serious injury. Like them, we will also continue to perform but need to remain mindful of how we do so.

Re-calibration may be needed every 7 to 10 years.

There are of course many many many more takeaways from the great man’s life, but I am needed elsewhere. I have to make green tea. ???

If you liked what you read, then please subscribe to my non-existent channel. It has a sexy hashtag! ?