[Business Strategy] 4th and 1

It is 4th and 1 with the ball on the opposing team’s 36-yard line. Your team is down by 3 points with 4:25 left in the game. You are out of timeouts and the clock is ticking away. You have less than 40 seconds to decide on a play, and every second that ticks away is precious time lost. Your quarterback is looking to you for the play call. You need to make a decision now.
 

Option 1: Kick a Field Goal: Your kicker has previously attempted and made one field goal longer than 50 yards this year at a distance of 51. In order to tie the game, he must kick a 53 yarder into a 10-mile-an-hour wind. Making the kick would create a tie, leaving about 4 minutes on the clock for the opposing team to score.

Option 2: Punt: Another option is to punt the ball and hopefully pin your opponent inside the 10-yard line. Then you pray your defense holds the opposing offense to three quick downs and out, enabling your team to regain possession in good field position and with enough time remaining to score either a game-tying field goal or a touchdown for the win.

Option 3: Go for the First Down: Your overriding goal is to give your team the best chance to win this game. You have faith in your kicking team to get the job done even though there is a chance the place kicker could miss the field goal and the punt could be blocked or punted into the endzone. Gaining a single yard to continue forward momentum sounds easy, but you know that it will take a monumental effort by everyone on your side of the football since your opponent plans to stop any and all attempts to take a victory away from them.

The call is made. You send in the play. You go for it on 4th and 1!

The success or failure of your 4th and 1 call depends on three fundamental elements of winning: strategy, training and communications. Each element is essential and co-dependent, and if any one element is missing or in short supply, then setbacks, failures and even death of a business is likely to occur. In business there are many 4th and 1 moments that require leadership to make the call without much time to weigh the decision. It is during these 4th and 1 moments that a strong business strategy, backed by targeted skills training and supported by solid two-way communications, allows a team to plunge through the obstacles in front of them and keep momentum moving in their favor.
 

Winning Strategies.

Winning strategies are defined and directed by leaders who are closely connected to the capabilities and constraints of the players on their team, and also have an understanding of the opposing team’s strengths and vulnerabilities. A strategy is a short- or long-range plan that has a predetermined purpose or outcome when fully executed. The greater purpose should be compelling enough to fuel the motivation engine of the team and every player associated with it. Just like in professional or college football, every good NFL or NCAA team has its long-range strategic sights set on winning the Super Bowl or the National Championship, and the team with the best strategy, coaches and motivated players will win it. While the big game and trophy are the ultimate goals, great teams never lose sight of the current game at hand, or more importantly, the current play at hand.

The recognition and the rewards associated with being known as a champion (or best in class) is the motivating factor for A-level players. Everyone loves to belong to a winning team because the energy from winning makes people feel good and also energizes B-level players to raise their game to higher levels. Every team in sports (or business) that believes it has a chance to reach the greater purpose of a season understands that every win is necessary and any loss will create a greater challenge along the way to becoming champions or dominant in the marketplace. Sticking to the strategy or game plan is the key to winning even when times are tough and obstacles are present. When setbacks occur, teams with the ability to adjust and realign can still win and often do so despite the enormity of the setback or challenge.

Great strategies require internal and external intelligence flow. Internal intelligence comes from owners, managers and employees. External intelligence can come from suppliers, associations, customers, consultants and competitors. The strategy should then be formulated into a playbook of sorts, or some type of reference document (“same-page” document) that highlights the critically important information that is used to gain alignment to the game plan throughout the company.

A winning strategy, with clearly defined attainable objectives, is only possible with valid feedback from all of these sources — especially the players if you expect full buy-in and commitment to the goals. If your team and its strategy are primarily represented by A-level players on the field of action, then dominance within the marketplace is likely. And when the time comes to face a 4th and 1 situation, your motivated team will be ready to execute the play needed to maintain forward momentum with everyone aligned to “same-page” thinking with the ability to adjust at the line of scrimmage if necessary.
 

Championship training.

Championship training is just as essential as possessing a winning strategy. If you expect championship play and results, you need to invest in proven expert training to sharpen the necessary skills of your key coaches and players, and then practice those skills often. Your managers and supervisors must fill the roles as the offensive, defensive and special team coaches. The team must be well-balanced to execute on the growth objectives and to defend marketshare from aggressive competitors and loss of business as a result of poor quality service.

Managers and supervisors are responsible for team and individual assignments that align to organizational goals. Therefore, they must identify and address all areas of weakness related to performance in order to field the best team possible. Once training has been applied to an area of weakness or to teach new skills, time should be allotted during regular one-on-one and team meetings to practice and refresh skills previously learned. Additionally, managers should take the time to assess the effectiveness of training investments by measuring the results against expected performance improvements.

Most A- and B-level players appreciate new skills training and knowledge refreshment opportunities. Investments in expert training are also good investments in employee morale. A team with a strong positive morale enters the game with the extra confidence to win it. Training on required knowledge allows the team to perform consistently and reduces trial by error setbacks. And when that critical 4th and 1 play rolls around, your team will have the motivation, talent and practice to pull it off.
 

Meaningful communication.

Meaningful communication is the glue to any successful team; it defines purpose and provides clarity and encouragement for the key players. Critical knowledge and field intelligence must flow freely up and down the chain of command in an efficient and timely manner to keep the team in a position to win.

When a football team comes to the line to execute on a play, the quarterback must quickly evaluate the set of his players and the defensive setup of the opposing team while communicating any necessary adjustments up and down the line to his players in order to flawlessly complete a successful play. In business, once the strategic plan has been set in motion and the tactics to attain goals are employed, strong communications in the form of team huddles, group meetings and one-on-one sessions provide goal reinforcement, goal realignment and tactic adjustment opportunities.

Effective communicators do so with clarity and transparency so their chances are high to gain commitments from key players for the necessary tasks ahead. During the team huddle and one-on-one sessions, time should always be allotted for questions from the team members. The old saying “you don’t know what you don’t know” is critical for leaders to remember because making an assumption that people who are assigned a critical role in a strategic plan understand when they really don’t is a certain path to failure, setback and disappointment.

Transparency creates an unbreakable trust bond between leaders and followers, and coaches and players. Shielding your true agenda or other critically important information from your team can backfire in a big and damaging way. It is always good to deal with employees from a strong trust platform, than it is to try to repair relationships when trust has been violated, even if it was unintentional due to management oversight. Transparency in information and communications must be a top-down commitment, so “walking the talk” is far more important for the top leader if the expectation is for the players to follow suit.

Feedback up and down the line of scrimmage makes winning plays happen, and if players are in tune with the kinds of information that really matters, and they understand that sharing this information or not sharing it will make the difference between a big win or a disappointing loss, then they will gladly bring it forward.

Sideline coaches also need to be completely engaged in the feedback channel by providing key intelligence they observe to make the appropriate adjustments that give their player or team the advantage. Sideline coaches and managers must also provide recognition for good play, and hold those accountable for misaligned behaviors and performance.

Strong intelligence and a healthy system to communicate what really matters are winning ingredients in any strategy or for any well-trained team, and will certainly make a significant difference when you have to make that critical 4th and 1 call.

The author is president of PowerPlay Strategies, a professional consulting firm based in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information, contact him via email at cdonaghy@giemedia.com.

Want to Hear More from the Author?
Chris Donaghy wrote an article in the May 2014 issue of PCT titled, “Passive Aggressive Behavior: A Workplace Cancer.” In that article he identified common warning signals of destructive employees who negatively impact pest control businesses. Donaghy also includes the dos and don’ts for dealing with passive aggressive personalities. Visit http://bit.ly/1xhTqpC to read it today!