Lessons from the Links

iUniverse, Inc.

Contents

Preface...................................................................ixMaking the Date...........................................................1It All Starts at the Bag Drop.............................................7First Hole: Penciling in Your Score.......................................13Second Hole: Playing from the Right Tee Box...............................19Third Hole: Communicating to Avoid Hazards................................25Fourth Hole: Playing with the Right Team..................................31Fifth Hole: Even Golf Is about the Brand..................................37Sixth Hole: Even the Best Clubs Don't Sell Themselves.....................43Seventh Hole: Dealing with Hazards........................................49Eighth Hole: You Can't Buy a Game.........................................53Ninth Hole: Winners Never Stand Still.....................................59Tenth Hole: You've Gotta Play by the Rules................................65Eleventh Hole: Finding the Time to Play...................................71Twelfth Hole: You've Gotta Keep Score.....................................77Thirteenth Hole: Even the Pros Have Pros..................................83Fourteenth Hole: Why Players Have to Believe..............................89Fifteenth Hole: Why Business Is Only a Game...............................95Sixteenth Hole: Finding the Balance.......................................99Seventeenth Hole: How Leadership Drives Success...........................105Eighteenth Hole: One Is the Loneliest Number..............................111Nineteenth Hole: Putting It All Together..................................117About the Authors.........................................................125

Chapter One

Penciling in Your Score

As they got back into the cart to drive from the practice range to the first hole, Matt looked over and noticed that Elizabeth had taken the scorecard and penciled in a score for the round. As she put it back on the steering wheel, he looked at the score she'd written on the card. He remembered that she was a pretty good golfer, but the score on the card would be a stretch for her.

As they waited on the tee box, Matt's curiosity got the best of him. "Hey Elizabeth, what are you doing? How can you fill in your scorecard? We haven't even teed off yet!"

Having seen that kind of reaction before, Elizabeth was unfazed. "Don't worry; I won't cheat. I'll count every stroke, but that's what I hope to shoot today. I've been playing pretty well, but I'm always trying to get better. I've found that writing down what I'd like to shoot before every round has really helped my game. Once I've put it in writing, it's like a clear vision. It sets the bar for the day."

Matt still looked puzzled.

"Once I've decided what I want to shoot, I try to picture what I need to hit on each hole to get there. I know that I won't score as well on the longer holes as I will on the short par fours, so I have to develop a different strategy for each hole. If I beat my plan on a hole, great, I have some cushion. If I miss my goal on a hole, I've got my work cut out for me and I change my plan for another hole—not necessarily the next hole, because that one might not be the one on which I can most easily shave off a stroke."

"That makes sense."

"I do the same thing in my business. I opened my business because of this vision I had. I knew that it would take a long time and a lot of work to get there, but knowing where I am headed has made the long hours and the hard work easier. I can really feel what it's going to be like when I cross the imaginary finish line I've pictured all this time. I can taste that success."

"I get it," Matt said. "The score you decided you'll shoot today is like that finish line."

"Sort of. But like in my business, there's no guarantee that I'll get there easily. You know how unpredictable golf is, Matt; it's tricky."

"Yeah," he said, "the little pond on the ninth hole at my club is like a magnet for my ball. It doesn't matter what I do—I always seem to go right to it."

"That's the advantage of having a vision. It's sort of like using that yardage book you bought. You focus on the big picture and the end result instead of on the obstacles in the way. And if you dunk one and take a penalty, you know what you have to do to make it up and reach your goal for the round."

With a slight grimace Matt admitted, "That sounds a lot more sensible than throwing a club and having a small tantrum."

Elizabeth went on, "In my business, every day is different. We don't always have record-breaking sales each month, and an economic downturn hits us just like everyone else. Golf is the same way. Sometimes, the longest par five plays better than the easiest par three."

"It's harder to get a hole-in-one on a par five, though."

Elizabeth laughed and said, "You're right, but the point is that I don't worry about any one shot or any one hole on the course. I focus on playing to get to my goal. Doing that keeps me from getting rattled or giving up. I also don't get caught up on how the others in my foursome are playing. I'm playing against myself to get to the score I've decided I can shoot for that day, and I keep focused on that end.

"I run my business the same way. I've got a lot of competitors, and it seems like new ones keep popping up every day. Many of them are bigger than we are, and some of them seem to have an unlimited supply of capital."

"That's exactly what I'm facing right now. It feels as if there's someone new opening up every day."

After commenting that the flowers next to the cart path on the way to the first tee box were in full bloom, Elizabeth responded to Matt: "You can't spend your time worrying about your competitors' game plan. It would be like letting one bad shot or a double bogey ruin a whole round of golf. You've got to play your own game. You've got to keep concentrating on what you do well and trying to improve your skills."

She went on, "I've been studying how the tour pros play. I think the biggest difference between the best and the rest is consistency. The winners don't change their games based on who they're paired with. They play their own games all the time. They don't let up when they're ahead, and they don't quit when they're behind. I think they must envision wearing the green jackets or taking home the big money. And that makes them the competition—the ones to beat."

Matt took his driver and walked up to the tee box, nodding. He liked Elizabeth's outlook and the way she seemed to approach her business. It made a lot of sense. He was thinking about visions and goals and playing his own game.

He paused for a minute, staring down the fairway, and seemed almost in a trance as he looked toward the green. Matt put his ball on a tee and without even taking a practice swing hit a long, straight drive to the middle of the fairway. His drive left him with a short easy second shot to get to the green.

"Great drive," Elizabeth said as she walked to her tee box. "I thought you said you hadn't had time to play lately."

"That's true, but I think I've just remembered something important about this game. Instead of just bashing the ball, I created...