Lessons From The Ping-pong Table

Who are those almost forgotten folks without whom your life wouldn’t be the same?

Do you have a Table-Tennis table in the office? The TT table was a common feature in several of the offices I worked in. I would look forward to lunch hour every day. Not for the food, or the lunch hour conversations, but for the post-lunch TT game!

Apart from being a stress-buster it was also a great leveller (where else would you find the rookie accounts officer hammering the CFO!) As I sat back and thought of the fun-and-games, I couldn’t help thinking that the daily ping-pong sessions also threw up some interesting life and leadership lessons. Like these five:

1.   Not too high, not too low. Table-Tennis is a simple game after all. Hit the ball — not so low that it doesn’t clear the net — and not so high that it does not land on the table. Most things in business — and in life — are like that. It’s about finding balance. You can’t be so hard on your people that no one wants to work with you — and you can’t be so soft that no one takes you seriously. You can’t be too adventurous. Nor too conservative. And remember, you have to make that adjustment. The net won’t get any lower — nor will the table become any longer.

2.   The two best players don’t always make for the strongest team. We often think great teams are about having highly talented individual players. But in those TT games, we quickly learnt that the two best players didn’t always end up winning as a team. Teamwork is about learning to get the best out of your teammate, covering for the other’s weaknesses — and helping him (or her) play to full potential.

3.   Small things matter. The TT table cost quite a bit. We had some expensive racquets too. And yet, there were days when we couldn’t play — because we had run out of Table-Tennis balls! A ball only cost some 15 rupees — but without it — life would come to a standstill. And we seemed to worry about the ball only when it wasn’t there. Good question to ask yourself: what are the ping-pong balls in your life? Who are those almost forgotten, seemingly insignificant folks — without whom your life wouldn’t be the same?

4.   Blame it on the racquet! It happened all the time. Someone would hit a bad shot, or lose a few points — and then what would he do? Look disgustedly at his racquet and reach out for a change of racquets. The message seemed to be: ‘The problem is not with me, it’s that damn racquet!’ When things go wrong we always look for someone else to blame. A bad workman — even in sport — still blames his tools. The racquet is only as good as the person holding it!

5.   The only point that matters is the next one! Never mind what the score was, all you had to do was win the next point. And the next. And that’s a good attitude to have in life. Don’t worry about the last point. That’s history. Gone. Over. Finished. Focus on the next point. No matter how strong the opposition, back yourself to win the next point. And the next. The next point, the next ball, the next shot. That’s what sport is all about. Heck, isn’t that what life is all about?