Thanks to John Keiser for sharing.

Good Morning Everyone,

“It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.” – Yogi Berra,

As most of you know, I am a sports fan. And, I also believe that there are amazing comparisons between sports and business. I have had a week to think about the recent Super Bowl and reflect on what actually happened. If you were not one of the 100,000,000 people that watched the Super Bowl or the commercials, the New England Patriots came from behind to beat the Atlanta Falcons in the first Overtime game in 51 Super Bowls. But how does this Super Bowl compare to business? Here are a few ways that I saw

· Yogi was right. Yogi Berra is a Hall of Fame baseball player, coach and manager. He also was a D-Day Normandy Beach Survivor. And he was a unique philosopher. It’s not over until it’s officially over is what his quote meant. . No matter what the score is. In the Super Bowl, at one time Atlanta was leading by 25 points. No team in the previous 50 Super Bowls had overcome that big of a lead to win the game. ESPN stats at one point in the game, gave New England less than 1% chance of winning! But as Jim Carey so accurately stated in his classic movie Dumb and Dumber….”so you’re saying there’s a chance!”. The Patriots believed there was a chance to win because there was still time on the clock and they were not done. That belief is needed in football, life and business. We owe it to ourselves, our teams to give it everything we have until it really is over.

· Attitude: there have been many stories about the Super Bowl in the last week. One that amazed me was that of Julian Edelman. While he made an amazing catch in the second half, perhaps his greatest impact was during halftime. It is reported that he was telling team mates “what a story we are going to make” and how “this will be something that our kids will talk about when we come back and win”. Remember, at this time the score was 21-3 and the game may have been even farther apart than the score indicated. But the attitude of Julian Edelman and the belief of others was very simple: They were still capable of winning. Couple that belief with the fact that the game was not over yet, and you have the makings of a comeback. Now, they definitely have a story to tell……

· Adaptability: The Atlanta Falcons were the more aggressive team. They had been all year. That is how they played the game for the previous 18 games. And, that is what got them to a 25 point lead in the Super Bowl!. Many would say, that that same aggressiveness is also what lost the game for them. There were times when the circumstances of the game – and winning the game- no longer warranted that same style. It is good to be committed to a style, a model, a way of doing things. But it is also good to remember that these are just methods of achieving higher goals and are not the ends in themselves. Champions know how to adjust, without compromising who they are.

· It’s one game: While it may be the biggest game of the year, and this may have been the most memorable Super Bowl ever, it’s one game. We live in a time when these games can define people, teams and even cities. But what amazed me was the head coach of the Patriots saying in a post-game interview that he “was 5 weeks behind in his preparation for next year”. He just won the biggest game of the year, but he was already focusing on next year. Why? Because this was one game and not the only game. There will be more games to play. More games to prepare for. And, more games to win. In football, life and business, we should enjoy our successes, but not live in them. Repeat champions don’t. They succeed. Enjoy. And prepare to succeed again.

Sports and business have similarities. Both are competitive. And what helps teams win in sports is exactly the same thing that helps players and teams win in business. The Patriots are an example of that.

Today, act like a New England Patriot.
Make a difference today
Love Clint Hurdle

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