I am a Colts fan. Therefore, it naturally follows that I am NOT a huge Patriots fan. As a Colts fan, I have held a special place this season for Peyton’s younger brother Eli as well. Therefore, because of Peyton’s little brother’s appearance, Superbowl XLII was not purely an exercise of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
For the first time, in a long time… the game was MUCH better than the commercials. What a game it was. What made it EVEN BETTER was that it defied the predictions of the “experts”. On the front page of the sports section in our local Sunday paper were all kinds of articles written with the Patriot’s Superbowl XLII win already penciled in.
I love it when the underdog wins. I guess that is why I work with small business owners… because the odds really are stacked against them from the start and I LOVE helping them to beat the odds.
However, it takes a LOT of hard work to beat the odds. That’s probably why I enjoy American style football. No football game was ever won AT ANY LEVEL without an entire TEAM of players and coaches working hard… physically AND mentally preparing to win the game.
There isn’t any “just in time” learning going on in football… and there aren’t many generalists playing the game. Each player has a job to do on the field. Failure to execute one’s assigned tasks means failure pure and simple.
Imagine if Lawrence Tynes (the kicker for the NY Giants) suddenly decided in the first quarter that he wanted to be a running back. When the Giants lined up to score their first field goal… imagine the chaos if he had picked up the ball and tried to run for a touchdown. Sure… it has the potential to be a great “trick” play… but it only has a chance of success if the whole team is in on it! If Tynes had suddenly decided to engage in “freestyle football” last night, I’m not sure he would have literally survived to see the end of the game!
Lawrence Tynes may have what it takes to play another position, but ever since high school he’s always been a kicker for the team. His role is tightly defined. Most of the time, his job is to stand on the side lines and be ready to walk onto the field and put the ball through the goal posts from ANY position on the field. That is his job. He’s not the fastest, he’s not the strongest…. and it’s possible that he doesn’t even know how to tackle properly. That doesn’t matter. He does what he does EXCEEDINGLY well and he can do it under pressure, when it counts.
As the mother of a kicker for his high school football team, I’m sure that Tynes suffered the same “ribbing” my son endures. Kickers, in general, aren’t considered “real” football players… however, if not for Tynes performance last night… (he scored the first and last points for the Giants) the Patriots would be having a much better morning this morning.
What’s your role in your customers/client’s lives and/or business? Do you really want nutritional advice from your CPA? I didn’t think so. Define your role and it makes everything MUCH easier when it comes to marketing your business.
