What A Prize Cock Can Teach Us About Strategy

I was having dinner with my son at the weekend and we were talking about my very ‘random’ career. He was asking me about Graham’s Pet Foods… and I was telling him some very bizarre stories.

Grahams was a business we bought out of administration two years before my partner died, a Pet Wholesale Warehouse. No, we weren’t selling goldfish by the bucket load… we were wholesaling everything from Hamster Balls, Ferret Hammocks (who knew??) to Dog Food & Bird Seed.

The warehouse was located in Northamptonshire which unbeknown to me at the time has a large “Pigeon Racing” Fraternity.

Now, to be perfectly honest I wasn’t best pleased when Colin arrived home and announced that after building a ￡6m brand for our client Banana Boat Suncare business, we were going to turn our hand to this.

It was WAY outside my comfort zone as I’d only ever had cats. Yet despite my reservations the proposition seemed sound. We were going to create a retail model to run alongside wholesale, and once we had worked it out we would have a string of country stores across East Anglia.

Part of the deal was that I would only do the marketing and strategy, and Colin would deal with purchasing and the great British public. But Colin died not long after we bought the business, and it was left to me to do EVERYTHING.

It was a steep learning curve, and none more so than being indoctrinated into the obscure world of Racing Pigeons. I quickly learned that there was a breeding season, a racing season, a moulting season… and each season required a specific type of bird seed.

I also discovered that we sold “ideal bath salt” for pigeons…? Ha I have no idea what non-ideal bath salt is, but the whole scenario of pigeons having a well-earned Spa Day did make me smile.

Anyway, one particularly morning a customer came in very happy as yet again his “Prize Cock” had won another race. He was having the best season ever.

Naturally curious and a little bored, I asked the customer if there was a secret to his success? Hoping that he might reveal some performance-enhancing product that we should stock that was akin to Red Bull for pigeons…

However, having sworn me to secrecy he told me his secret weapon.

And I quote:

“The night before a race I take my prize cock to the loft where his mate is. Before I do that, I put a young cock in with her. I hold him up to the loft so he can see that there is a competitor for his bird’s affections. That gets him REALLY riled… Then I do it again once more before I put him in the transporter, so when he is let go all he can focus on is getting home as FAST as possible to claim his bird!”

This bizarre bird-baiting was clearly getting results, and other members of the fraternity were NOT happy.

PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS ARE ONLY ACHIEVED WITH FOCUS

So, what did my Prize Cock have to teach me?

If you set yourself a Goal it materialises faster, and with great ease and with greater certainty, if you have TWO vital things in place:

??1) A Strategy

??2) An Incentive (to help you remain focussed and energised)

If you have BOTH of these, you are far more likely to put the consistent effort in (and on the right things) to achieve the required result.

It could be as simple as:

“If I sign two new clients this month I will treat myself to a Spa day.”

??or

“If I double my turnover this year we will get a _____” (fill in your dream).

And be sure to put images of these Incentives EVERYWHERE – on the fridge, by your desk, on your computer background and your phone lock screen…. constantly reminding yourself of where you are headed and the reward that is waiting for you when you get there.

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