Herman School of Business
If the ball lands in the rough, hit it from the rough.
In simple terms this means that when things go wrong, you have to adjust from your normal course of action. You have to think about where you really are, not where you wish you were. Making another mistake after the one that landed you off the course will cause a ripple effect on your business that could turn a win situation into a disaster on your score card.
Slow your thinking down when you go off the course. Don’t speed up your decisions or actions. Take an extra amount of time to consider every option. Should you try a daring move to recover, like hitting the ball through the tree in front of you…or perhaps should you admit the error and take whatever penalty there is to simply drop yourself or the ball back on the course and then resume your normal actions.
Setbacks happen everyday. People let you down but you don’t fire them for one mistake. Your shipment is late but you don’t quit on that supplier. The inventory is out of whack with your current sales requests. Successful owners and managers make the necessary adjustments, without worrying about trying a one-in-a-million shot – going through the tiny hole in the tree, slicing the ball around the corner, and then having it roll up on the putting surface, which usually results in the ball smacking the tree squarely and almost taking your eye out when it ricochets back at you. And you end up still in the rough, but farther away from the green than you were before.
- Posted: 28 November 2007
- Comments: 0
- Category: Business success
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