One of the great things about Spring is the arrival of some iconic sporting moments.
The Grand National, The Boat Race(s !!) and The Augusta Masters to name but three. Great drama, admiral skills and in all 3 cases, nerves of steel.
In 2015 these events are being played out against a backdrop of a General Election. Of course it’s easy, popular and good fun to have a dig at the politicians and whilst they may not have nerves of steel their willingness to appear on TV with regularity and ‘take one for the team’ is almost admirable.
Get Professional help! Select your partner carefully though.
One thing so many sporting stars have taught us is this;
“I may have bucket loads of natural talent but there is always something a quality professional can teach me!”
Ivan Lendl won many matches but kept failing at Grand Slams till he invested heavily in specific coaches. Of course Ivan himself proved to be the key for Andy Murray in winning his first Grand Slam.
Tiger Woods, almost certainly the most natural talent ever in golf is notorious for seeking out the best coaches to fine tune all aspects of his game. However Peter Allis another prodigious natural talent and regarded as the best commentator of any sport believes Tiger is now over coached.
So my message remains valid, but carries a health warning too.
What are Politicians doing wrong?
From what we are told the major parties DO engage Professional help. They employ an army of advisers, PR gurus, style mentors etc etc. And yet still the reaction to them is at best neutral and often derogatory.
My thoughts are this, and this is where the link to running a business is pertinent
• Sports is ultimately about endeavor and giving 100%.
• With these qualities at the core then it is not surprising that good professional help can take it further, sometimes a bit, often a lot
• Politicians do not have the luxury of giving 100%. The backdrop of Party Politics requires that almost all communication has to be validated, censored and of course ‘spun’ until all the colour is washed out of it.
• People love to watch Sport …The winners and the triers.
• People cringe when they watch politicians. We know when someone is not giving 100% and that never sits well with us.
• Many of us understand why it is like this, but we still don’t enjoy it and when we witness politicians like Tony Benn and Boris Johnson we know it can be different.
Choose wisely
The message of this blog is simply this. When you choose a business to work with look for;
Getting Professionalism (PS is 45 years old!)
Getting 100% (referrals are key)
Getting Honesty (look us in the eye and make up your own mind)