GROW YOUR BUSINESS LIKE A WINNING QUARTERBACK

Focus, Interception and Recognizing When the Play is Over Can be Keys to Growing One's Business During Tough Times

by Mimi Donaldson

IMMEDIATE NEED: What do we do for money right now?

Here are three tips we can learn from. They're from the Super Bowl game held on February 1, 2009, and they'll help us manage in these troubled times. (I'm a "football girl," so I was glued to the game!):

#1: FOCUS

Ben Roethlisberger, the winning quarterback, extended many plays with tremendous focus and presence of mind. Larry Fitzgerald, a brilliant wide receiver, turned the game around with a long touchdown run because he looked for an opening and never looked back.

Lesson - We need to focus on the value of our product and service, stay calm in the face of doubters, and look for an opening for success - and never look back!

#2: INTERCEPTION

At the end of the first half, James Harrison intercepted the ball and returned it 100 yards (the length of the field) for a touchdown with the longest run in Super Bowl history. The interception changed the context of the game and shifted the momentum.

Lesson - This is not in the traditional job description of a linebacker (he needed oxygen afterwards). In our businesses, we need to do something different now: attend a meeting you've never attended; look for an opportunity in a non-traditional place.

#3: WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS, THE PLAY IS OVER!

Santonio Holmes caught the winning touchdown. But he had dropped a sure touchdown pass just moments before. He begged his quarterback for one more chance, telling him, "Please let me get this game for you." Each man respected the finality of the play before. They did not allow it to affect the next play.

Lesson - We need to shake off our past mistakes and alarming economic forecast and recognize that each moment is a new moment of now.

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The above are likely excerpts from Mimi Donaldson's new speech and next book, Punt, Pass or Power Through: Lessons Learned at the Line of Scrimmage. For more on Mimi's keynoting with celebrities for audiences of thousands, visit http://www.powerwithin.com/4105/event_calendar.asp and Mimi's speaking site at http://mimidonaldson.com .