Why Business Owners Should Watch the Super Bowl

“Want to compare yourself to someone, make it someone great,” my father used to say. Okay, maybe I should compare myself to a winning football coach, such as Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints. After all, a professional sports team is a business.

If I worked with the energy and focus and commitment to winning of a successful football coach, I’d be unstoppable. You would too. During Super Bowl XLIV I pondered what I could learn from the teams on the field that might translate to my life as a business owner and manager. Quite a lot it turns out:

Collective focus on a common goal

Winning habits

Proven methods

Innovate for advantage

Recruit and retain the very best talent

Speed matters

Outwork and outprepare the competition

Harness the power of routine and repetition

Practice like you play

Specialization of personnel

The most important player is the quarterback

Each player has clear assignments and knows his contribution to the whole

Track key team and individual statistics

Celebrate team victories and superior individual performances

Discipline

Sense of urgency

“I think it would be easy to compete against businesspeople,” said Kyle DeVan, Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman.¹ Based on my work with owners of private companies, and my own private business, he’s probably right. Professional and college sports teams seem to be the model of efficiency and productivity. Maybe I should model my business accordingly. Maybe you should too? Or maybe you do.  Share your practices and experiences with us via a comment to this article.

^{1 Wall Street Journal, Friday, February 5, 2010, page W1}