A Little Help From Your Friends

I recently had one of my best rounds of golf. I know that this is a small business blog and not a sports blog…or even Michael’s brag blog, but I have a point to this if you will stay with me.


Going back to this outstanding round of golf once again brings me to a few conclusions. The first is that I did not drive the ball off the tee and better than usual, my approach shots were not improved either. So why did I shoot a lower than usual this round of golf?


That is the second conclusion, simply because I putted, or “scored” better. In golf the strokes keep adding up, or another way of saying it is your results worsen the more strokes you take (mistakes made), the longer you play the hole. The score ends (goal achieved) when the ball goes in the hole.


Why did I put better then is the question? What influenced a change in my putting results?


The answer is that many times during that super round of golf I had the great fortune of having my ball close to a playing partner’s ball on the green. And, many times I got to watch that partner attempt a similar putt to mine. By observing someone else’s putt I got a great “read” on what the ball would do before I had to putt my own. Seeing the path to a successful putt did wonders to my performance. Someone else pioneered the road to success and I just followed or improved on it. I made less bad reads or mistakes and the resulting score was much better than what I would have done on my own.


That dear reader brings me to the lesson learned. To minimize your mistakes in business it is critical to model after successful entrepreneurs. It is even more crucial to have mentors and close associates that can share their experiences with you. Every pitfall you can sidestep because of an early, accurate read from someone who has been there before is a windfall.


If you truly want to play better golf, sorry….run a better business, enjoy more success…then find mentors and peers you can trust to give you that “read”. You will be vastly more successful. You will also experience a new camaraderie that can also be a game changer. But more of that in a future blog.


Score well my friends!

Do the clothes make the man, or does the man make the clothes?

I am a Business Coach to a team of marketing students in their senior year at one of our State Universities. The students are working on several projects contracted by various private enterprises. While preparing the students for a first meeting with their respective clients the issue of appropriate dress came into play.

I was quite surprised when there rose a general uproar in the classroom at the mention of coats and ties for the men and the women should “dress like ladies”. Even after discussions centered a round first impressions...

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression"    Will Rogers

and, showing respect for the client/professionalism/competent image and a whole host of other reasons why the students needed to depart from their flip flop and holey jeans look when visiting the offices of the organizations that had hired them; there was still a lack of understanding why? They were saying; “What does how I look like have to do with the job I am about to perform? In other words; Isn’t it about the content?” This statement is coming from a generation that has been raised to embrace diversity and individual uniqueness, both admirable traits. And they are right about the fact the “content is king”.

So here is the question. Is it the old school approach of “Dress for Success” and “When in Rome do as the Romans do?” Or, is it as the students believe; “It does not matter what I wear, what is important is if I deliver the goods or not?”

Let’s hear from you on this issue. Which approach do you use in your business?

BTW: For you old schoolers:

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”    Mark Twain