At the End of the Day, It’s Just a Sport
August 5, 2009
I recently read an article in the American Airlines in-flight magazine about tennis great Rafael Nadal. Published in the June 1 issue, it was a natural lead-in to the upcoming Wimbledon championships where, just a year before, Nadal had stunned Roger Federer to take the title in what has come to be regarded as the best tennis match ever played.
They were naturally predicting a rematch this year, but Nadal couldn’t play because of a knee injury. Fortunately there was another exciting five-set final with Federer eventually prevailing over Andy Roddick to win his 6th Wimbledon and 15th grand slam title – a record on the men’s side.
As competitive as Nadal is, he’s also, well, a genuinely nice guy – a rare commodity in the world of elite professional sports. And a lot of this can be traced back to his early days in the sport when he learned the fine points of the game from his Uncle Toni, who has been his one and only coach.
Toni set three ground rules if he was going to train the young Nadal:
1. If you ever throw a racket, we’re finished. They’re expensive, and when you throw a racket, you don’t just disrespect the sport, you disrespect all the people who can’t afford equipment.
2. Losing is part of competing. You will lose. And when you lose, it’s not going to be my fault or the fault of your racket or the balls or the courts or the weather. It’s your fault, and you will accept it and try to do better next time.
3. Have fun. When you stop enjoying this, it’s no good. You’ll find something else that gives you pleasure.
And these same three rules can be equally applied to our business environments.
First, if you get into a jam, don’t lose control, work to find a solution.
Second, you will fail from time to time. For all our success in this business, we’ve also had some monumental failures. It’s inevitable – you can’t have one without the other. And when that happens, there’s no point – and certainly no benefit – in looking for someone else to blame. Recognize that there is no failure – only feedback. Learn from the situation; brush yourself off; and get back on the horse.
Finally, you should enjoy what you do. I’m not saying work should be like a heavenly nirvana with beautiful music, colorful flowers, and birds singing. But for all the time you spend at work, thinking about work, and taking work home, you should at least enjoy it a little bit. If not, then maybe it’s time to look for something new.
And, above all, try to keep things in perspective. As Nadal put it, “Of course I want to win, but at the end of the day, it’s just a sport.”
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