Tennis & Business

I love tennis and I truly find myself in the tennis court. Hitting the balls is not only an excellent stress buster, but also an extreme enjoyment. I play since 1980’s. Reflecting on my favorite sport, I can recall many similarities to the business world.

1.????? You can’t play alone

You must have an opponent. You can’t play alone. Competition allows you to play harder and examine your potential. However, you’ll not enjoy it if there is big skill gap between you and you opponent. Choose well who you’ll compete with.

2.????? Your tennis racket

The weight of your racket must be bearable, and the grip size must fit your hand to have a firm grip. Heavy rackets will get you tired soon, and light ones will make you hits weak. It is all about having the right tool in place.

3.????? The string tension

After a few weeks of hitting balls, the tension of your strings will weaken, so you’ll need to replace them with new ones to keep your hits strong enough. Stephen Covey said it so well “Sharpen the Saw”.

4.????? Always new balls

Erosion of the outer yellow cover of the tennis ball will affect its bounce, then your performance will be greatly impacted. How your players are performing in the field or in the different departments. Do they optimally bounce?

5.????? The wrist bands

Personally, I can’t play without those, they absorb the sweat dropping from my hands to the racket grip. This sweat will make the racket slippery and I will lose control over it. If I don’t remove such barrier, it will hinder me and I can’t play or compete well.

6.????? The net height

The official height of the tennis net is 42 inches (106.7 cm) at the poles and 36 inches (91.4 cm) in the middle. Any change in these measures will affect the rally and lead to deception. Your balls will pass easily over a low net, and you’ll think you are good. Most of your balls will hit the net if high and you’ll think you are not doing well. Monitoring the optimum height is like understanding the market environment.

7.????? Why do you do it

I coached tennis for two years between 2011 - 2013 and I always started by asking my new students “why do you want to play tennis?”. Reasons vary from having fun, losing weight, to keeping fit. If they want to be professional, I -then- refer them to my coaches. I know my level and my limitations. Similar to having business objectives.

8.????? There is no age limit

The beauty of tennis is that you can play at any age. It you think you are too old for it, then think again, all what you need is to stand at the middle line and return the balls back. There is also special slow bouncing balls for kids that can be used for elderly as well. ?Looks very similar to business, you can start your own at any age. Don’t let the count of years stop you.

9.????? You must keep practicing

Practice makes perfect like any other skill and any other business. The more you do it, the easier it gets. The frequency and intensity of your practice depends on your objective.

10.? Having fun

In the end it is about enjoying the game or the rally? and creating good moments and sweet memories that put smiles on your face. If you are not enjoying, then may be it is not for you, you have to find something else. Looks familiar!