I like to think I’m fluent in three languages: English, marketing, and sports. Though the latter two can be discussed in any language, they have their own distinct dialects that outsiders may not understand.
The marketing world uses terms like ROI, SEO, SEM, CPC, CPM, and CTR whereas the sports world uses acronyms such as FG%, QBR, BA, WAR, and HR. There are hundreds of acronyms, abbreviations, and terms specific to both sports and marketing. They may be completely different professions, but these two worlds have plenty of similarities.
So how do sports and our everyday work lives align?
A Home Run Always Feels Good
Everyone wants to do a stellar job or “knock it out of the park” when it comes to their work. Whether getting a website to rank on the first page of Google, gaining 1,000 followers, or writing a blog read by thousands. Meeting goals and exceeding expectations is great for personal, team, and company growth.
Disclaimer: Swarming a deserving co-worker with praise as shown in the gif above may lead to injury or very curious looks from the rest of the team.
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
Do whatever you can to help your coworkers, especially with the little things. If see your teammate is swamped with work, offer to help if you have the time. Check on everyone’s office morale. The last thing you want is for a Hall of Fame employee to leave your team because of differences with the coach (manager) or other players (coworkers).
Get in Early and Stay Late
Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. If you give your all on a project, not only will it turn out better, but your superiors will notice. Work hard for your teammates and organization, and your teammates and organization will work hard for you.
Being the first person in the office and the last to leave accomplishes two things:
- Set the Precedent – Your coworkers will notice and, hopefully, follow suit. If you’re supposed to start work at 9 a.m., consider yourself late as of 8:50. Get to your desk, get in the zone, and get to work.
- Get Ahead of the Game – Arriving early lets you get all your small tasks out of the way before most people even clock in. Staying ahead of the game will give you wiggle room throughout the day if something urgent comes up or you need a mental break.
Pressure Can Make or Break You
It’s crunch time. You have an almost insurmountable project on your plate with a rush deadline. Do you get flustered and crumble, or accept the challenge and step up to the plate?
Nobody Sees Behind the Scenes
People see the finished product without appreciating the work that went into it, and that’s fine! In sports, athletes work out and train for hours per day in order to perform how they do during games. The same goes for business. For example, hundreds of hours can be spent designing, writing, and developing a website. Most website users won’t think about or appreciate the behind the scenes work, but that just comes with the territory. As employees, we should pride ourselves on the finished product because we know how much time and effort we put into what we do.
No One Hits a Homerun Overnight
Becoming great in your field takes time; it definitely doesn’t happen overnight. Make time, put in the work, and good things will happen. Challenge yourself to get better every single day in some way. Jumping from little league to the majors takes time, so focus on the fundamentals, learn from your mistakes, and try not fall down like the guy above.
