Soccer & business? There is more to it than you think!

I love soccer and when I see the game it reminds me so much of business.?

Few months ago, I attended a soccer tournament. The 4 adult teams were split by ages: under the age of 20, under 30, under 40 and 40+.

The teams were amateur not professional. Apart from the young ones these are not teams that play on a regular basis. And it showed.

Add to that the extreme heat. These guys were playing in heat that was 35 degrees.?

Now, imagine several unfit men running up and down a pitch, gasping for breath struggling to kick a ball and you get the idea.

But the young ones were on fire. These boys play regularly, are fit and full of energy. Just what a team needs to win a tournament – the right attitude. My son was part of the team and he too was bullish.?

So, when the under 20’s had to play the over 40’s they were, well bullish. They had after all just dispatched the under 40’s by winning 4-0.

And that is exactly what I heard the team Captain say.??

‘We have passion and energy. We have got this. We are going to win big.’

It made sense. They were playing a bunch of 40-60 year-olds, 10 of whom could be classified as obese and the two who weren’t obese were the only ones who had two fully functional legs. But they also had one killer striker. He was 1 of the 2 not obese.?

But something told me it would not be so easy.

The young ones huffed and puffed using their energy to get through the middle of the pitch, but the young ones missed one crucial thing. Passion and energy are never enough. Because to win any game you need to have a strategy that takes advantage of weaknesses in the opposition and plays to your strengths.

You see the old guns had 5 seasoned defenders with probably 150 years of experience. They knew every trick in the book. There was no way you were going to get through the middle of them without a strategy. The old guns knew they had to boot the ball forward in the hope that the 2 who were not obese will get a shot on goal whilst at the same time not allowing the young ones near their goal.

It was not an attractive strategy, but the aim was to win the game. They played to their strengths understanding their weaknesses.

The young guns tried to outpace and outrun the old guns. What they needed to do was use the whole pitch and stretch the defenders out of position creating gaps.?

The match ended with a 1-1 draw with the young ones dejected and the over 40’s elated.

I know what you are thinking. What the hell am I talking about and how does this affect me as a medico? Here is the punchline.

It is not unusual for young medical professionals to start a medico business who are excited, passionate about healthcare with lots of energy. But a business strategy will determine if you win, lose or draw the game of business.?

It is not passion. The medical profession is full of passion. It is full on energy too.??

What they lack is a plan. A strategy. A game plan to win the game. Yes, you may be profitable, but the chances are you can make more. A lot more.

But having a strategy does not mean you will win the game. But your chances are a lot higher with one than without one.

In other words, do you want to play a game where the result is 1-1 or want to win 4-0?

If you would like to have a 15 minute chat on how you can win the game of business, please call us on 1800 281 038 or email [email protected].