I'm reflecting on my son's U11 latest rugby game and the response that followed from the coaches and parents.
Interestingly, while my son's team was victorious winning 25-17, it was the losing team that celebrated like winners and the winners who left the field looking like they had suffered a huge loss.
You see, it's actually got nothing to do with the end result. While it's ultimately important for score keeping, my son is being taught a very important lesson.
It's how you play the game that counts. The boys started strong but then got complacent and underestimated the might of the opposition. They made careless errors and didn't back each other. They didn't communicate with one another and consequently they didn't perform well as a team.
While they might have had a win, it was a shallow victory.
The same can be said in business. How we apply ourselves and conduct our business directly correlates to the quality of our relationships and the outcome of our efforts.
When we know intimately what we stand for and we make decisions that are value-based, we put ourselves in a win-win position, no matter the score at the end. As consumers there is a growing preference for doing business with like-minded and ethical organisations. It pays to do good and corporate social responsibility is now a necessity for any business who want to conduct their activities ethically.
Yet there is so much more that can be done in this space. Businesses have the opportunity to play a bigger role and can significantly impact the social, economic and environmental fabric of community.
Here's how you can make a difference:
- 1) Create new value
- Understand intimately what the problems are that need fixing and apply your resources to finding the solution. There are a number of start-up businesses out there that could really do with the helping hand of a corporate partner. While the financial rewards may not be obvious from the outset, no one will question the value that can be created by investing in a new talent pool that is developed through mentoring and support services.
- 2) Play hard
- This where commitment, discipline and a dogged-determination to success is critical. You can never give up and you can never think you're there because there'll always be someone better closing the gap behind you. Just as my U11 boys team experienced recently.
- Play hard, but also play fair. As the saying goes, Remember the Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Sometimes we feel poorly done by or cheated, but a few minutes spent in reflection may also reveal you are also guilty of the same crime.
- 3) Take the lesson
- Not all your new ideas will work. In fact, most probably won't but it's how you apply yourself to creating shared value that ultimately counts. The fact you're giving it your very best shot is what ultimately counts. Every day companies are making mistakes. What counts is how they respond to the mistakes to keep moving forward.
- If we can learn from our past mistakes, and take positive action, we are still moving forward.
- Want to build a stronger foundation for future partnerships? We can help with all your sponsorship needs from management to measurement, strategy to solutions. Give us a call on 1300 366 306 or visit us on Facebook to keep in touch.
