Business Monday: Business Lessons from The World Cup – Bob Salvas

by Bob Salvas, contributing writer

Unless you live under a rock, you know that the WORLD CUP of soccer (‘football’ for the purist!) just finished their big month-long tournament here in the United States.  This was the first time the event has taken place here since 1994.  It was quite a spectacle.  I have never considered myself a real soccer fan, but I was compelled to watch a lot of this great team competition this time around.  It was amazing!

Naturally, there are life and business lessons we can take away from this recent WORLD CUP competition.  Here are some that I noticed:

PRESSURE – Unlike a lot of big American sporting events, the WORLD CUP only happens every four years.  Not only that, but players are not just representing a team, but an entire country.  So, the WORLD CUP (in a similar way to the OLYMPICS) comes with an incredible amount of pressure on the athletes.  Some people rise in pressure situations, others do not.  For example:  Uruguay’s striker Darwin Nunez had high expectations for this year but did not score a single goal in the WORLD CUP.  Meanwhile Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi thrived, scoring key assists and goals to help his team advance.

Business comes with its own kind of pressure.  If you have ever had to deliver a big sales presentation to a prospect, you know what I mean.  This is especially true if the business is not doing well to begin with.  The pressure just for a business to survive can be brutal at times.

The best way to combat the pressure of that sales call or playing an important soccer match is to first BE PREPARED.  Practice and preparation are keys to success by themselves.  But both things can also help build your CONFIDENCE which, in turn, can keep you calm in the face of chaos. Lastly, it is critical to have the right MINDSET.  A growth mindset can help separate you from the outcome and help you focus more on the execution.  Always love what you do and strive to grow in what you do.  Lionel Messi loves soccer in the same way that Tom Brady (when he played) loved American football.  Both competed hard to win but both also enjoyed the game without TOO MUCH emotional attachment to the outcome.  I am sure they both would resonate with this quote:

“I never lose, I either win or I learn.”-Nelson Mandela

TEAMWORK- While superstars like Lionel Messi can help a team win, one superstar in a team sport cannot win the game all by themselves.  A team must bond and come together to play as a complementary single unit.  A great team will always outperform a great superstar.

The same is true in business.  You may be a superstar businessperson and do everything for your business, but in today’s world, you cannot achieve long-term success without the help of others.  Even a one-person operation with no employees needs a team around them to help with things like accounting, taxes, legal issues, branding, marketing, communication, technology, and more.  Finding a team and working with them to meet your unique business needs and goals takes time and effort but, in the end, it can mean the difference between winning or losing.

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” – H.E. Luccock

DIVERSITY– A key component to teamwork is that each teammate often has their own abilities and skills and experiences.  Understanding and utilizing each person’s unique strengths in a coordinated effort towards a common goal is what makes a great team.  In the case of the WORLD CUP, national teams must work together with players from different soccer leagues and different regions who may also have different playing styles.  The ability to bring this diverse group together as a team will directly impact that country’s chances of winning.

In business, not only should your team have individual skills (like accounting or marketing) but the more diverse they are in experience and backgrounds, the more they can contribute to the team effort.  I’ve often heard solo business owners say that they wished they could clone themselves.  That might sound like a good idea but it’s not.  If everyone in the room is the same, you tend to all have the same answers and all agree with each other.  In other words, GROUPTHINK.  Diversity offers more opportunities for challenging discussions and innovative solutions.  A diverse team can easily outperform a group of people who all think, act, and look the same.

“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” – Stephen R. Covey

One final note on this.  We should never fear diversity. Consider this: I was pleasantly surprised by how much the wildly diverse group of international fans enjoyed being here for the WORLD CUP and how much WE enjoyed having them here. While we love (and root for) our own country (as they do), we all came together and had fun at this WORLD CUP event.  People are people. We have more in common with them than we think we do.  We may be citizens of the United States, but we are also citizens of the world, and it was nice to be reminded of that.

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Bob Salvas is a Professional Development Manager for the RI Builders Assn, a marketing consultant, the founder of Momentum Networking, and the co-founder of THE MARKETING CAMP, a yearly conference to help small businesses achieve success. 

For more information about THE MARKETING CAMP, go to themarketingcamp.com.  Bob can be reached at 401-359-1602 or at [email protected].