Why life is like a game!

Anyone who knows me knows what a hockey fanatic I am. I love the game even though I only started to completely understand it as an adult.

I try not to do it too often -- use sports analogies in day to day life -- but as I watch my local team (the Canucks) fumbling out of the gate I recognize a series of issues that parallel a new business getting out of the gate. (Now don't worry, I am not going to say you need to give 110% and there is no "i" in team... I have other cliches I can use!)

Last year, the Vancouver Canucks assembled a brand new team (essentially), as a new General Manager in just his second year, Dave Nonis, decided to re-brand the team, removing an exciting but not always effective offense-first style with a new coach, one of the best goalies in the game and a defense-first lunch bucket style of play.

The start of their season was suspect at best. The group of individuals sought to find their role in the new team, to understand their methodologies and to find an identity as an organization. They struggled through the first few months of the season... but you could see that even though the wins weren't coming initially that they weren't far off.

The Canucks went on to play a pair of "must win" games against their divisional opponents the Calgary Flames -- and win is what they did. Something clicked. The vision the coaching staff and management had for the team really could work if each person played their role and trusted in their teammates. The Canucks went on to win at a ridiculous clip for the rest of the season -- they set a new team record for points and ended up winning their division!

Now this year, the Canucks started slow out of the gate once again, even though they were icing essentially the same team as last year. They weren't looking like division leaders - they were looking more like basement dwellers.

So what happened?

I see this everyday with myself, my clients and my colleagues. We can often become a victim of our own success.

I have been a fortunate person, I have had some success as an artist, as a business manager and as a sales professional. I find, you often ride the momentum of these successes by getting into the right mindset, having confidence in your abilities and doing all the right things that come with the habits it takes to get wins. You get to a point where you hardly think about it at all.

The problem is when you think the future successes are going to come because they are "deserved", or simply because of what you have done in the past. In other words, you have to avoid buying your own hype.

A successful sports team, or business or artist or anyone typically follows a formula that is pretty simple to say and harder to do:

1. Have a clear vision of your goals


2. Get everyone on the same page


3. Make sure everyone understands and is committed to THEIR defined role


4. Commit to HARD WORK - from the preparation, to the drop of the puck, to the final whistle (and overtime if that is what it takes to win the game)


5. Assess performances, remember what worked and change what didn't


6. Get ready for the next game

It seems easy enough, but we all (including pro athletes) are subjected to momentary (and longer) let downs in performance, we have to ignore our "off-ice" distractions (tired, sick, family needs) and we have to be prepared to accept accountability for our actions.

When the loss column begins to get larger than the wins, we can't look affectionately to our previous performances and say it is okay -- if we want to live exceptional lives we need to look at what made us successful before and work a little smarter.

Or maybe the Canucks just suck this year? Nah, I think I'm onto something here -- I will just wait by the phone for Dave Nonis to call...

Dan