You Can’t Score Without The Goalposts

Why the hardest working teams might be running in the wrong direction.

The FIFA World Cup is well underway. Have you been watching?

The best soccer players in the world are playing their hearts out this month, and whatever country they’re from, they have something in common beyond their talent and dedication. It sounds obvious, but when it comes to business it’s rarer than you’d think.

They know exactly where the goal is.

And every decision on the pitch – when to pass, when to run, how to shoot the ball – is made in relation to that fixed, visible target. If you were to remove the goalposts, the game wouldn’t just get harder, it would stop making sense altogether. The players would still be fast, skilled, and working hard. But their efforts would be directionless… and directionless effort, no matter how impressive, can’t win a Cup.

So isn’t it amazing how many business owners try to play without goalposts?

You Need a Target

Running a business without specific, agreed-upon targets is like playing soccer without goalposts. You can’t possibly create a coherent strategy. You can’t expect the players to know where to be and what to do. You won’t get the best possible performance from them – and some of your best players might just quit on the spot out of frustration!

But once you’ve decided where the target is and made it visible, the strategy you’ll use to score becomes much more obvious. Decisions become easier: does this move me towards the goal or away from it? You can confidently say no to distractions. You can work together as a team.

And when you can imagine what it would be like to win the biggest games, all the effort you’re putting in feels more purposeful.

The Power of Vision

While each minute of every game takes focused effort, the players in the World Cup have a clear vision as well, that transcends the minute-to-minute action. It’s not just about scoring a goal, and it’s not just winning this game. It’s being part of something momentous – the chance to win it all and take home the Cup.

That bigger picture is what inspires emotion, passion, and the superhuman level of heart the best players bring to big games. It’s what makes us care about the result.

That’s why I coach business owners to define a clear, compelling vision for their company. Vision has the power to unite their team, inspire new levels of individual performance, and keeps your top goal scorers focused on doing what they do best.

This Week’s Takeaway

Your daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly targets work like goalposts in a soccer game. They tell you how to score, and allow you to track and measure your results.

Your big picture vision for the future inspires performance from your team. A united team plays with heart. Working together toward something you care about gives new context and meaning to achieving those short-term targets.

If you’re trying to run a business without fixed targets and a big picture vision, how much more purposeful will your days feel when you finally get clear on what you’re trying to achieve?

Upcoming Event:
ActionCLUB – The Expert Edge

July 17th – Register Here

Join ActionCLUB on Friday, July 17th from 10-1 to learn how to communicate and sell your industry expertise, so you become the obvious choice for your ideal clients – the ones who will happily pay what you’re worth.

Details

Friday July 17th, 10am-1pm
Located at IDEA Square One, Mississauga
Interactive session: “The Expert Edge”
Featuring table discussions & a networking lunch with local entrepreneurs

Learn More About ActionCLUB Here

Infinite Edge: by James Vincent

There’s a challenge many entrepreneurs know well: having access to more tools, information, and opportunities than ever before, yet still feeling held back by stress, distraction, or self-doubt. Drawing on his work with Olympic athletes, CEOs, and other high performers, James Vincent shares a framework for building greater alignment between your mindset, emotions, habits, and actions so that performance becomes more consistent and sustainable.

Check it out!