Winning coaches understand that it takes a variety of factors for their teams to make it to the Super Bowl. Talent, hard work, dedication, and strong team dynamics all come together in pursuit of an ultimate goal. Small business owners who have the right resources in place can succeed by following a similar playbook.
Small business and championship teams have a lot more in common than one might think. While they are clearly different on the surface, when you look deeper, you can see that there are plenty of similarities between the two.
Both strive to provide the best possible outcomes for their clients. Whether it’s protecting customers from financial losses or achieving championships, both have a vested interest in making sure that they are providing the best possible outcome for those they serve.
Resources
Championship Team: A football team must build off the basics. They need players who are smart, strong, agile, fast, and reliable. They also need the right resources in place; equipment that helps train and protect the players.
Small Business: Owners need to field a good team too, made up of intelligent and experienced staff. They also need to provide their ‘players’ with equipment that will help them train and succeed at their tasks.
Data & Strategy
Championship Team: Football coaches employ a wide range of tactics to gain an advantage over their opponents and optimize the performance of their own team. Game films are utilized to assess the playing style, skills, tendencies, and strategies employed by the opposing team. Scouting appraisals often utilize expert analysis to provide an informed opinion on the players’ abilities, physical attributes, and attitude towards the game. By analyzing this data, coaches can devise game plans and tactics tailored specifically to their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
Small Business: The same is true for a company. Raw data is extremely useful when making financial decisions, but the data alone is not enough. It is important to conduct a thorough, competent analysis of all information in order to make the best decisions. This analysis should involve more detailed facts that go beyond simply interpreting raw numbers.
Workflow
Championship Team: After the coin toss, the workflow of a championship team flows seamlessly. The players are well prepared, and the coaches begin to call the plays. The players have spent hours practicing drills, visualizing successful runs and passes, and honing their technique to meet the challenges presented to them. All of these reactions are planned in advance, each player has an intimate understanding of the game, and all involved continually assess the available data and determine the best course of action.
Small Business: In a commercial business, the workflow should also proceed seamlessly in order to ensure that all customers have an exceptional experience with the product or service they are receiving. To accomplish this, businesses need to have a clear workflow plan in place that spells out each step of the process. This includes identifying tasks and detailing who is responsible for each task, setting a timeline for completion, establishing milestones and tracking progress. Teamwork is essential in any workflow.
Swiftness
Championship Team: Once a play begins, the quarterback must make snap judgments, linemen must charge to their assignments, and skilled players need to show off their world-class speed. The goal for each offensive player is to work together as a cohesive unit as quickly as possible.
Small Business: A seamless process works best for customer demands. Like the teams, the business that acts and adapts the fastest is most likely to win. Customers want fast service without excuse.
Profitability
Championship Team: All this leads to the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl victory—and overall team profitability. The team owner wants a winning team to draw more fans to their games, increase broadcast revenue opportunities, secure marketing deals, and guarantee a strong increase in profits.
Small Business: Having accurate and comprehensive data, reliable resources, and knowledgeable staff is extremely important for business owners to help reduce their expense ratios while also increasing their profitability. With the proper strategy and workflow in place, owners can not only safeguard their customers but also make their businesses more successful.
Experience
Championship Team: The Super Bowl is widely considered as the most important and influential football game in the world, and this is for good reason. It is a perfect example of how creating not just a product, but an entire experience around it, can result in greater success. The halftime show is typically the highest-rated hour of the game. Commercials, parties, boxes… the number of things alongside the game that are not actually about football is astounding. Through careful planning, strategic marketing, and a commitment to excellence, the Super Bowl has become one of the greatest annual sports events in history.
Small Business: Businesses need to think beyond the goods and services their company provides. It’s important to draw interest and repeat interest by creating an experience. Customers may not buy on that first trip, but they will remember the experience, and they will come back.