Have you noticed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament that the underdogs seemed to do very well against some of the giants of college basketball? Georgetown, Kansas, Syracuse, Villanova, to name a few teams that were ousted earlier than most thought. I heard a statistic that of the over 4.5 million people who completed brackets only 3 had a perfect bracket after the first 33 games. There are several lessons I take away from this experience of heated competition. First, it is hazardous to assume victory when confronting a motivated and prepared opponent. Leadership requires that the team be motivated and prepared. Secondly, play the game from the very start like your life depended on it. Too often losing teams did not wake up and start playing until it was too late and the deficit they faced was insurmountable. And thirdly, block out the noise. These games have been compelling because for the most part they have been played on neutral sites. However, fans love underdogs, so teams who are supposed to win often face hostile crowds. This sometimes seems to shock these teams and their coaches. Winners focus on the five players on the court and not on the thousands in the stands. For entrepreneurs, these lessons are directly applicable. I recently read the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. I highly recommend it for MBEs who want to learn more about competitive strategy from the perspective of a samurai warrior. Business and basketball are forms of conflict where victory is not random.
March 29, 2010
