Are you ready for the big game?

Will you be one of the 110+ million people that will watch when the Patriots and the Rams tee it up? I will be one of the people watching this Sunday, and I’ll be taking in what both teams’ coaching staffs have put together for a game plan — what they hope will be the game plan that will bring home the Lombardi Trophy. The One Thing Having the right game plan elements developed for any situation that occurs is the key. This is true in the game of football as well as in your organization. In my business (and for myself) I’m trying to align with principles in a book that I recently read — “The One Thing” by Greg W. Keller. This book boils your success down to one thing applies both in business and football – what do you have to do to be successful? You can further refine this down to the following key question: “What’s is the ONE thing that I can do, such that by doing it everything else will become easier and unnecessary?” What’s your Game Plan? In the football game plan that ONE thing might be: run the ball, control time of procession & protect the ball (i.e., no turnovers), stop the run, or don’t give up any big plays. In business, you need to look at the game plan on both the micro and macro level. From the micro view maybe it is: What do I need to get accomplished in the next 20 minutes or what do I absolutely need to get done today? At the macro level, it is a little more complicated as this is usually looking at processes, product, people, or a combination of those elements. Next up would be getting your plan together to create the organizational change. Maybe you have some big plans for this new year: a new HRMS system selection or implementation, data conversion from one system to another, going paperless in your payroll and HR functional areas, safely storing your history & compliance data, or just making what you have currently for people and systems work better and more efficiently. Nine Peaks is here and can help on any one of these or a number of other areas. We can help put together and carry out your plan for your ONE thing. Who’s your Team? As far as the game this weekend… it should be fun, and I expect a great game. Nine Peaks has clients and friends that favor both of the teams—so no predictions here. I should probably point out that the Rams were a past CORT client (back in their St. Louis days I was on site with them once there). On the Patriots side, I get told on a regular basis that I look a little bit like Bill Belichick or Norm from Cheer’s (another New England staple). Hope you have a good time if you do watch, and your team wins if you favor one over the other. —Eric Skidmore, Nine Peaks Managing Partner \ Tech Sherpa