Photo courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti |
Wimbledon is a special place for me. It’s not just about the tennis, but I went to
high school, lived and got married there.
So the fact that my recent visit back to the UK just so happened to
coincide with Wimbledon tennis, made the trip even more special.
In the past I have written about the business lessons to be gleaned from Wimbledon and this year, was no exception.
Being loud doesn’t
win you fans
My main observation this year was that more and more players
are grunting their way through their game.
To the point where, frankly it became irritating and a real turn off.
Maria Sharapova, in particular, makes a noise that is reportedly
over 100 decibels. In the UK papers,
viewers were saying that they put the sound on mute, so they could watch the
game in peace. Not a bad idea.
One tennis player observed that the grunting distracted the opponent
too, drowning out the sound of the ball, so it was impossible to judge the spin
and timing.
From a business perspective, I am sure many of us can think of unhappy clients who shout
and complain loudly about whatever irks them, but does that work? I suspect not. Just as in the tennis world, it certainly
doesn’t win you any fans.
Expect the unexpected
Fortunately there wasn’t much rain this year, but when it
did come, the play had to stop and for some players the interruption took them
off their stride, as they waited for the roof to go up. But as John McEnroe observed, that’s part of
the game and you have to deal with it.
Just as in business, there are bound to be curve balls that
come your way, and it is how prepared and ready you are to deal with them, that
is key.
How you lose says
much about you
As in any sport, there are winners and losers and how you
accept your losses says a lot about you.
In particular I am thinking of Roger Federer. He is such a class act. Always professional, always the gentleman. We could all learn from him.
David vs. Goliath
On a positive note, it was lovely to see some new and young
players get through to the quarter and semi finals, especially a Canadian. These newbies have nothing to lose, and so
play some of their best tennis against the icons of the tennis world.
Likewise, as small business owners we can compete with the
big guys and not let ourselves be intimidated. We have a right to be in the
game, and who knows, we could just win.
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