A client reached out to me this past week for assistance with his sales team. He was frustrated with their February numbers to date. He explained that they finished 2012 strong, got 2013 off to a fantastic start in January but for some inexplicable reason have been below budget to date for February. My client is a former Division I basketball player so I put it in terms he could easily relate to.
The college basketball season and being in business are both a lot like running a race. February is the most dangerous time of the year. Every year during the month of February, there are a good portion of college basketball teams that have won 17-20 games and have most likely secured a potential slot in the NCAA Tournament and they know it. There are more teams who have won 14-16 games thus far and really need certain key wins down the stretch in order to make the NCAA tournament in March. If you’re one of the 17-20 game winners and you’re playing the 14-16 game winners you may think you’re sitting in a good spot but in reality you’re in a dangerous place. The teams that feel like they’ve made the tournament may not have that edge anymore. They may take their foot off the gas pedal so to speak. It’s a lot like the employee or project team that gets off to a great start during the first quarter of the fiscal year and realizes they’re a little ahead of schedule. With that comes a tendency to ease up a bit.
If this describes you or your people, you’re in a dangerous place because others who haven’t secured their spot yet look at playing you as an opportunity. They aren’t afraid to compete against you; their backs are against the wall — they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is why there are so many upsets this time of year; different teams are running different races. Some are running their race to protect a lead headed to the finish line (end of the regular season or end of the quarter) while others are going full throttle knowing they need to gain ground.
The Solution: What you want to do is run your race like a team that has the edge even if you are leading. This is easier said than done, but it is also how you sustain excellence whether it is in the sports arena or the business arena. As a leader if you can create an edge for your team all the time, you will help them stay humble and hungry. It’s about creating an attitude that separates your team just a little bit from everyone else. The thing with attitude is that you can have a “good attitude” and be just like everyone else. Here is the kicker… everyone else doesn’t advance in the postseason. And everyone else certainly doesn’t win a championship. You need to develop an exceptional attitude in your team.
Attitude is not a trait, it’s a muscle and if you don’t exercise your attitude daily it will atrophy.
The challenge is that there’s no cookbook recipe or easy to follow formula when it comes to training attitude, you just have to figure it out with your team. I have found with my lacrosse teams and business teams that there are a variety of ways to develop that edge in people. Over the years I’ve had to use: different ways with different teams different ways with the same team the same way with different teams and sometimes even duplicating the same way with the same team to get the desired result in the end. You have to figure out what works for you. Simple as it may sound keep notes or a journal on the results (or lack thereof) you’re getting. This provides you with both feedback and historical perspective which you can reference in the future.