It's not all about little white balls!

This weekend’s Ryder Cup was breathtaking and a wonderful result (if you’re European). Even the number of balls lost in the water made me feel better, although to say they reminded me of one of my rounds is a bit of a stretch. OK, a lot of a stretch.  So apart from the brilliant sponsorship by Aberdeen Standard, why post on LinkedIn?

Well, a few things struck me that could be applied to business, in particular teamwork, the importance of the course, momentum, and the value of cheerleading.

Teamwork matters. A group working together can demonstrably achieve better results than on an individual basis, as we saw.  

Matthew Syed has written books on this subject and I can’t hope to emulate his writings. However, a couple of points … as observed from my armchair, the body language of the players from different teams was noticeable. The mutual support offered and warm embrace, and the utterance of the word “team” by every European player was clear for all to see. In contrast, the US golf team was tagged “the best team ever” but their teamwork was less obvious.

For the winners, a shared goal and the ability to try and avoid criticizing others was key; a safe space to try, to risk, and to succeed. To put this another way, the team outperformed the sum of its parts. As Bill Gates put it (not about golf but more generally) “there are two great forces of human nature: self-interest and caring for others”. One of the best reviews I’ve seen describing the golf and the teams attmosphere is attached https://www.golfchannel.com/video/molinari-hard-describe-so-proud-everyone/

Here we see the support and caring for others delivering a tangible result.

I’ve heard and read much that “the golf course suited the European game” – well I’m not sure about that, but those who adapted to the conditions (hit it straight and kept it out of the terrible rough) scored better than those who didn’t. 

In the futures industry and for exchanges, the micro market structure matters, as does clarity in regulation. The issue with Brexit is not that it’s happening, it’s the uncertainty that prevents people from understanding, and being able to adapt to the lie of the course. In fact, most participants don’t know which course they are going to be playing! The good news from a CurveGlobal perspective is we have clarity on our plans. We’re remaining in London and will offer global access to our market.

Back to Sunday afternoon Paris time. I was watching DJ (Dustin Johnson) hole a 65 foot putt for birdie on the 11th (for the non-golf readers that’s a brilliant shot). As a result, he took the lead for the US in his match against Ian Poulter (whose nickname is “The Postman” as he always delivers).  At the same time, Rory Mcllroy lost the first match for Europe after a terrible drive on the 18th (last) hole. Were the wheels coming off? The Europeans watching must have started to worry; I certainly did. Momentum is important in sport as it is in business. On the next hole, the postman hit back eventually winning against the world number one. He really did deliver, and the Europeans ended up closing out a clear victory.  But the point about momentum in business shouldn’t be ignored.

At CurveGlobal we’re proud to be over 5% of the short sterling market. Momentum matters. Belief matters.

Finally – watching and listening to the Ryder cup was to see and hear an array of colours, dress and song. Perhaps typified best by the European “guardians of the cup” https://www.guardiansofthecup.com/ . The cheering, support and encouragement is important – the collective knowledge that you’re part of something bigger. Here at CurveGlobal, while I’ve not yet found anyone wanting to dress up in corporate colours, the support, encouragement and feedback matters. I believe it’s one of the reasons for our growing success.