The concept of the game of football is uncertain – you never quite know how a match will play out, as surprise wins and losses are not uncommon. At the end of the day, the match result relies on performance and teamwork – and when it comes to performance, sport and business share a common ground.
With the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar well underway, let’s look at what key learnings from the game of football, small business owners can take away.
A Game Plan / Strategy
In football, a team requires a game plan in order to determine how to tackle pre-determined situations – with the strategy used as a blueprint for achieving success. To create this game plan, there needs to be an understanding of team / individual strengths, and contingency should the plan not work and there is a need for pivoting. Having a strategy can be the difference between winning and losing.
In business, you need to implement a strategy that reflects the business goals, and how they will be achieved. This gives the business something to work towards. Without a strategy, a business becomes vulnerable to market takeover.
Recruit The Best Possible Players For Your Team
When recruiting players for their team, countries in the FIFA World Cup are looking for the absolute best – the most talented, up-and-coming with potential, the right attitude, and experience.
In small businesses, it is important to hire the best suitable candidates for positions as this will help grow the business long-term, and with the right training programs and support in place, will ensure this growth is sustainable.
Feedback
In a football team management squad, coaches and trainers are constantly providing feedback to players to improve their skill set. This allows a player to review and enhance their performance, by working on drills that need improvement.
Business owners should follow this model and provide employees with feedback on their performance so they can subsequently improve, through being aware of performance areas that could do with some more focus. This could be done through reviews and training sessions.
When You Have The Ball, You Need To Do Your Best To Get It Down The Field and Score
During a football game, when a player has the ball, they need to do their very best to move the ball down the field and attempt to score. Standing still is pointless.
In business, in order to keep moving and inch closer to achieving the business goals, business owners need to invest to grow, and understand the needs of their staff, clients / customers, and market, and form solutions surrounding how to best fulfil those needs and cross the line.
Losing a Game, Equals an Opportunity To Learn
When a team loses in Football, they go back to the drawing board, review what went wrong and where, and examine their game plan to see where the weaknesses and opportunities are.
In business, when a setback occurs, they too need to take a step back, assess their strategy, and focus on how to move forward from here and use the knowledge of where they went wrong to fuel their success.