What's Your Pre-Game Routine ?

What if I told you that each day, when you walk through the front door of your business, its GAME TIME.  Seriously.  Whether you have been in business 20 years, or just getting started, as business owners we are in GAME TIME each time we set foot in our establishment as the leader.  We are the coach, owner, and CEO. 

But too many times we forget the importance of preparation in order for us and our organization to win the day. 

So if preparation is the key to winning, do you have a pre-game routine? 

As silly as it sounds, this is a critical element to success.  Just like any pro athlete, you must prepare each day to lead your team to victory.

In sports, a pre-game routine is a set of actions and mental preparations that athletes, whether amateur or professional, follow before a sports competition to help them perform at their best. The specifics of a pre-game routine can vary from person to person and sport to sport, but here are three common elements that we can embrace as part of our Shotmaker pre-game routines: 

1. Physical Warm-Up: While we might not be playing a physical sport, there is incredible value in doing something physical each morning before work.  This can be as simple as taking a walk, meditating, or spending 10 minutes listening to our favorite music as we walk our dog.  Regardless of the movement itself, taking time for our physical body can help us show up to work more energized and focused. 
2. Mental Visualization: In sports most top-level athletes use visualization techniques to mentally prepare for the competition. 

When I was playing golf, I would spend at least 10 minutes before a round visualizing the great golf shots I would hit that day.  

But in business, I would argue that we do the opposite.  We spend 10 minutes each morning stressing about our cash balance, and drive to work picturing with vivid detail the many mistakes our manager or team will make that day.  And by the time we get to work we are stressed and overwhelmed.  

But what if we did the opposite instead? What if we spent 10 minutes visualizing the success we were about to have? The new corporate catering we will land? The new location opening and doing well?  As silly as this might sound, its impact can be powerful.  We must find a way to visualize performing well, focusing on our skills and strategies that will win the day.

Review your Game Plan: In sports, every moment is planned.  There are plays, strategies, moves that are practiced for hours before ever being tried in a game.  But in business, how often do we let a day, week or even month slip by without a game plan?  

I believe it doesn’t have to be something overwhelming.  That the key element in a successful game plan is actually keeping the target simple enough for our entire organization to understand.  You as the owner may have 10 things on your wish list for next month.  But successful teams and organizations find a way to translate this into one target that is embraced by the entire team. 

This is why we believe in weekly accountability as the game-changer for any organization.  We believe that the game plan should be a weekly set of targets that is reviewed weekly to understand the results from the previous week, and what can be done to improve this next week.  

This review should be done with our management team, to ensure everyone is on the same page and understands their roles and responsibilities in turning this plan into a reality.  .

Our challenge for you this week is to experiment with different elements and adjust your routine as needed to optimize your performance.

Are you ready to embrace weekly accountability for your team? Are you ready to let go of the past mistakes, so that you can drive your team forward this week? 

We can help?

CLICK HERE to schedule a call with our very own Shotmaker - Scott Fisher

-Anne