I’m not sure if you play tennis or not but that does not matter to get the point of this article. What I want to share with this post is a few valuable comparisons I have seen between sports and how to manage one’s career and/or business. I use tennis as the example because it’s the sport I am most familiar with. I use CompareHRIS.com as my business example for the same reason.
I started playing tennis when I was about ten. I have never been the most athletic guy on the court, the fastest, or possessed the best strokes. I am, however, a smart player. When playing a match I look for weaknesses from my opponent which I can exploit for maximum gain with minimal risk. If you are losing, you switch things up and keep doing so until you find a winning strategy and from there you just need to tweak what you are doing. To be losing and not try a different approach is unwise since your outcome is assured. If switching things up means you have to step outside of your comfort zone, then so be it. Find out what works and repeat.
When playing tennis, risk is constantly assessed. Sure, I could go out and hit every ball as physically hard as I could but I would miss most of the shots and lose. On the opposite hand, I could play super safe, hit nothing but lobs, and lose as well. It’s important to find the combination of shots that create the maximum reward with the lowest risk. With every serve, volley, forehand or backhand risk is assessed. I’m not saying I am constantly performing high math to make a shot decision. It just becomes sort of instinctual after a while. Risk is constantly assessed in most, if not all, sports. Tom Brady does not throw bombs to Randy Moss on every play. Kobe Bryant does not try and dunk every shot. Baseball players don’t swing for the fence every time they are at bat. Older tennis playing bloggers don’t go out and try to hit every shot like Roger Federer.
Off the court, it’s always important to improve your skills. Maybe I need to improve my serve or my volleying abilities or perhaps learn to serve and volley. All of these skills go into a bag which I can use to perhaps find a weakness in the next opponent. Those combined skills make you more competitive. The important thing with tennis, any sport, your career, or your business is to be constantly improving upon your skills. I’ve never been a big fan of complacency in sports or business. I’ll have time for that in my 60’s.
Are you seeing the connections? Constantly work on your skills and abilities off the court. Assess risk and make your decisions based on that assessment. Look for opportunities which present the greatest reward with the least amount of risk. Constantly monitor what is and what is not working. When you find out what is working repeat it.
When I left Sage Software after five years to become a value added reseller, I had to learn how to implement and support the system as well. I created CompareHRIS.com because the reseller business was not working. The HR software reseller field was becoming more competitive, the HRIS vendors were provided fewer leads and charging higher fees. I needed a new tactic. I did not have the skills for this business when I got into it. I got into the whole HR solutions software website thing without any working knowledge of web design, search engine optimization or online marketing. To say an internet business was outside of my comfort zone is an understatement. These were all additional skills I had to learn to make CompareHRIS.com work. Based on the risk versus the potential reward, I decided CompareHRIS.com was a worthwhile investment. I have over the last year and half had to constantly monitor and make changes to the site based on what has worked and what has not.
Maybe colleges should start to require tennis lessons for their students. I’ve learned a lot more on the court than I knew. Mom and Dad, thanks for paying for the tennis lessons and oh, college too.