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What Do Quarterbacks and Business Owners Have In Common?

Written by: Adam Sonnhalter

Article Overview: It's that time of year when there is a lot of football on TV. Everything from college bowl games to professional playoffs. No matter which games you watch, it quickly becomes evident which team's quarterback (i.e. "QB") is better than the other, and usually that is the team that wins the game. How are you doing as the QB of your team (i.e. your company)? How do you measure up against all those other QBs (i.e. business owners)?

What Do Quarterbacks and Business Owners Have In Common?

It's that time of year when there is a lot of football on TV. Everything from college bowl games to professional playoffs. No matter which games you watch, it quickly becomes evident which team's quarterback (i.e. "QB") is better than the other, and usually that is the team that wins the game.

How are you doing as the QB of your team (i.e. your company)? How do you measure up against all those other QBs (i.e. business owners)?

One of the key roles a QB plays for his team is to "read the defense" and adjust accordingly. The QB already knows what play has been called, what personnel he has on the field, the weather conditions he is facing, and the stage of the game (i.e. 1st Quarter vs. 4th Quarter, leading vs. trailing, etc.), but if he doesn't read the defense properly, a lot of bad things can happen.

The opposing team's defense (i.e. your competition) is constantly trying to stop your team from advancing. And they don't make it easy. They disguise the things they are doing to confuse you or they'll pretend that they are going to do one thing and then they'll do another. All in an effort to stop your team.

This is where the hours of preparation by the QB and the rest of the team come in. You'll be hard pressed to find a quarterback at any level of football who just goes out and "wings it" come game time. Have you done your homework (i.e. market research) to be sure you put your team in the best position to succeed on every play?

Let's pretend the QB has called a long pass play but the defense is showing that they're going to blitz. If the QB and his teammates don't notice the blitz coming and continue with the play, chances are the play will end up with a negative result. It could wind up in a sack, fumble, interception, or an incompletion instead of the desired result which would have been a big gain for a first down or perhaps even a touchdown.

If you continue to simply call plays (i.e. strategies) in a vacuum based on what you think will work and leave no wiggle room to adjust based on what you see in the marketplace, chances are your plays will fail more often than they will succeed. Oh, you will occasionally have plays that work, but if you aren't in tune with the market (i.e. the defense) you may not be sure why they did or didn't work.

How good are you at recognizing what the defense (i.e. your competition and the market) is doing? What about the rest of your team? If your market is throwing a blitz your way and you recognize it but your teammates don't, chances of success will decrease significantly. Just like the QB will get his receivers, running backs, and linemen all on the same page, it's up to you as the owner of your business to get your team on the same page as well.

So how do you do this? It starts with getting your teammates (i.e. employees) involved. Here are some things you should be doing to improve your effectiveness at the QB of your company:

1. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: this must be important since I said it three times! The best QBs are the ones you see constantly communicating with his teammates. It starts with the huddle, but continues as they approach the line of scrimmage and are preparing to snap the ball and also continues once the play has started. Communication includes both verbal and non-verbal signals.
2. Get Others Involved: a good QB knows that he doesn't always have all the answers. It's key for you as the QB of your company to ask others for their input and actually use it!
3. Praise In Public/Criticize In Private: everyone likes to know how they're doing. Just be sure you tell people at the appropriate time. If someone makes a great play (e.g. does something wonderful for a customer), make sure everyone knows about it. If someone runs the wrong route (i.e. loses a new potential piece of business), pull them aside and away from the rest of the team to talk about it vs. doing it in front of the rest of the group or in the media (i.e. in public).
4. Share Information: keeping the knowledge of how to beat the defense (i.e. your competition) to yourself isn't going to do anyone any good. If you discovered something during film study (i.e. market research), be sure to let the rest of your teammates know about it so they can factor it in as they prepare for the game as well. Who knows, maybe they saw the same thing and will have a different take on it. Heck, you may even be wrong! The key is to get everyone thinking the same way as it relates to continuing to gather and share information.

We're big believers in keeping things simple. If you do just these handful of things well on a consistent basis, chances are your team will win more games (i.e. make more profit) than they lose on a regular basis. Isn't that the point of this game in the first place? To win (i.e. make profit)! It's easy to lose sight of that fact sometimes!

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Article Tags: business owners, quarterbacks and business owners



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