The Network Garden

I am a sports nut, and love the metaphors of teams, players, competing and winning, so much so, in fact, that many of my favorite books (“Finding a Way to Win,” “Think Like a Champion) and movies (“Cinderella Man,” “Remember The Titans) are sports-oriented.

One of my favorite predictors of success in sports is winning the “50-50” balls.

A 50-50 ball typically refers to a loose ball where players from opposing teams have an equal (50%) chance of gaining possession, often requiring high effort and hustle to win.

When teams win the 50-50 balls, it’s usually an end-product of greater effort, focus, attention to detail and a mindset that every loose ball counts.

If you think about it, success and failure in life often comes down to winning the “50-50” balls, metaphorically speaking.

It may take the form of an extra outreach to ensure a key decision maker attends a critical meeting.

Or, extra preparation on a client’s larger business goals to better anchor the WHY.

It can take the form of writing personal notes, or a commitment and disciplined practice to not make the same mistake twice.

Often, it’s as basic as making sure the entire team is prepared for who says what and when, likely challenges and counters.

On a personal level, it may be the extra effort that goes into making eye contact, smiling, saying “please,” “thank you,” and making a human connection.

The point is that while so much of success and failure comes down to executing in the key “winning” moments, it’s the little moments in between that set the narrative & mindset for being the last one standing at game’s end.

It’s an exercise AND practice in training the mind for success.