Calling an Audible in Business
1:00:00 – 5.41 miles (hills)
For any team, whether it be business or sports, a clear vision needs to be set. It ensures that everyone is thinking and taking action to get to the goal. The vision should be set from the top and then each team creates goals to hit that vision. Every activity, meeting, and task should somehow relate to getting to the vision.
With every team you can break them down into smaller teams. For a football team, the goal is to win the game. For the offense team, their goal is to get points while the defense team’s goal is to stop the opponent from scoring. Two separate teams, working together through their own goals to reach the team’s vision of winning the game.
In the world of business it is very similar. Leadership sets the direction and goal so the teams put together the plan of how to get there. From my experience, the direction is either a financial: hit x amount of revenue by end of the year; or strategic: make the competition crumble. Both have a way to define success around them which allows the teams to move forward quickly. People can understand how to be successful in their role which makes for happier employees.
Even after a vision and plan has been communicated, there does come the time to call an audible. As in football, this is a change in play when the leader sees something that could jeopardize the plan. Maybe the market changes, the industry shifts, or the competition rolls out a new piece of technology that captures the buzz. Normally, the vision doesn’t move all that much, but the plan to get there may. This could mean a shifting of resources, putting projects on the backburner, or venturing into a new area. Everyone has their own way of dealing with change based on their experience.
In the world of running I have called multiple audibles. One of the well-known rules of running is to do nothing new on race day. Well, I break that rule every race. We are not robots. To say that 24 hours before a race of eating specific food, drinking a measured amount of water, and getting timed sleep will produce the same results every time? I’ve learned to listen to my body and when it grumbles, I give it an extra push. Depending on how hard it pushes back, I may call an audible. For the record though, I have crossed the finish line of every marathon and ultramarathon that I have started.
We have to be ready (and willing) to call an audible in life sometimes. The most difficult obstacle is yourself. Fortunately, it is the obstacle you have the most control over.
