In baseball every team is going to win at least 60 games (unless the team is historically awful) and lose at least 60 games. What separates those that make the playoffs and those that don’t are the remaining 42 games. The good teams win 30 of them; the average teams win 20 or less.
In basketball, 90% of the games seem to come down to the last five minutes. However, game after game, the good teams win those last five minutes; the average teams find ways to lose.
In football, every game seems to come down to four plays. Game after game, the good teams execute those four plays to precision, and the bad teams don’t.
The difference between good and average in sports is very small. The same holds true for small businesses. The good companies execute flawlessly on the minor details while the average companies don’t.
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Great post Greg! So true too. It’s like that video 212 Degrees. The little differences make ALL the difference. I like the sports analogy. The other thing is, it’s when people are the most exhausted, have played hard for an hour or two or more and are THEN called on to execute brilliantly. Winners and losers are determined not by the execution alone – but by how well they execute when exhausted, under stress and looking at loss looming in front of them.
Thanks Becky,
You’re right – It is how well the execute when it counts. The winners in sports hit the clutch shot when their legs are tired. The winners in business are willing to go the extra mile for their customer at the end of a long day or week.