Imagine what it would do to your organisation and business if you could get your co-workers, employees and yourself as enthusiastic about their work as they are about golf.
Joe, who drags himself morosely through the week at work, starts livening up as the weekend golf game approaches. Come Friday, he’s positively ebullient. He spends hours on the lawn at home (and perhaps in the office) practising his putting, voraciously reads all the golfing magazines and obsessively analyses last week’s mistakes – the hooks, slices and missed puts.
He may have the occasional memory lapse work-wise, but he remembers every stroke of genius and every blunder of almost every game he’s ever played. In golfers we see the true power of motivation. What is it that drives people to this level of passion, energy and creativity? Have you ever wondered how you could get your people as hyped up about their jobs?
Let’s think about it. Standing on the tee, you look down the fairway and can visualise the path to the green. If you take your golf seriously or compete at a high level, you’ll have studied the course, perhaps together with your caddie, a day or two before the tournament.
When you get on to the course you understand the layout, distances and hazards. While you can see the hole you’re facing – the short-term – you also know what lies further ahead. Now, knowing the lie of the land, you choose the right tool – the club. You might have a quiet chat to your caddie about it, just as you would ask the advice of a colleague at work.
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Read more in the 29 July 2011 issue.
