Victories that are easy are cheap.  Those only are worth having which come as a result of hard fighting.                                       ~  Henry Ward Beecher

There are two ways to approach the game of business.  George Stalk, one of the world’s top strategy consultants, recently put it this way:  “Companies can ‘play to play’ or they can ‘play to win.’”  At first glance it’s hard to distinguish between “players” and “winners.”  Both are active in the marketplace.  They hire employees, develop and implement marketing plans, and serve clients, customers, and guests.  Both generate revenue.  They have budgets, they buy raw materials and supplies, and they produce a product or provide a service that people want.  Both may also be profitable but the winners are more profitable more of the time.  Why?  Winners, for the most part, exhibit distinct behaviors that separate them from those who play the game of business just to play.

Create Forward Momentum

A company playing to win works every day to create and maintain its forward momentum. Winners are able to keep moving forward for one primary reason—they keep the goal line in sight.  Did you ever get off an interstate highway in unfamiliar territory?  You drive three to four miles and then realize you’re lost.  You turn around and drive back to the interstate.  Doesn’t the trip back to the highway seem much faster, even though it’s exactly the same distance?  When you got off the highway you had no specific goal.  You weren’t sure where (or if) there was a gas station ahead.  Once you turned around though you had a specific objective and you knew precisely how to achieve it.  Winners in business operate in the same manner.  They set a specific goal with a precise deadline and detailed directions for reaching it.

Keep Score

If you don’t keep score, how will you know that you’ve won?  Measuring progress daily is the best way to sustain your forward momentum toward a goal.  Most businesses operate with an annual (12 month) budget.  Some break those goals into daily or weekly goals.  By measuring and posting daily results, winners never have big problems to solve.  They don’t have to make drastic, traumatic changes in order to survive.  They instead focus on daily adjustments in operations to keep their business heading toward the goal line.  Businesses “playing to play” have plenty of daily activity. But, unless it is measured against a daily goal, the activity can be wasted and unproductive.

Develop a Culture of Intolerance

Companies “playing to win” are intolerant.  They are intolerant of waste, dishonesty, rudeness, carelessness, unreliability, and fraud.  In other words, companies playing to win are intolerant of mediocrity. They do not award an “‘A’ for effort” and they don’t encourage you to “try your best.”  They do provide thorough training, measure performance regularly, give frequent feedback, seek and retain high performing professionals, and set high standards for customer service.  George Stalk states, “[You must] build a team of people who aren’t afraid of the truth, even if the truth hurts.”  By constantly reviewing the daily activity and measuring it against the ideal standards, winners are more focused on meeting and exceeding customer or client expectations.  By creating intolerance for anything “below standard” they raise the quality of output on a daily basis.

Celebrate

When winners cross the goal line, everyone goes to the party.  Success is its own reward but there must be concrete and public affirmation at staff meetings, in newsletters, and even at a pizza party in order to keep winning.  Winners are quick to share the good news and to give everyone as much credit as possible in order to foster team spirit (and to balance tomorrow’s “intolerance”).

“Playing to win” is a tough choice.  It requires a deep commitment because it is rigorous and the effort to succeed is relentless.  Not everyone is up to the task.  The rewards of “playing to win,” however, far exceed the inconsistency and stress of “playing to play.”  As Henry Ward Beecher says, " Those [victories] only are worth having which come as the result of hard fighting.”  Do you have the discipline and desire to fight hard and to “play to win?”

This article is provided as general information and is not intended to be a substitue for legal or other professional advice.