In tennis, the name of the game is to hit the ball right back into the opponent’s court within its boundaries. Recently, I had an epiphany that the world of business is somewhat like that, albeit not always. Let me explain.
The game is more fun when you’re playing with a professional whose skill level is equal to or slightly above yours. We keep hitting the ball back and forth until such time when you are ready to go in for a “kill.”
Well, in business, obviously, you do not want to “kill” the opponent. In fact, we want the good opponent to stay in business for as long as possible so that we can continue working with him/her.
When you are working with a superb professional, the speed at which the ball is returned to you is very fast. The opponent treats you as if you were his/her only client. And when your own objective is to always keep the ball in the opponent’s court, things get done at an amazing speed.
With everything I do in business, I strive to keep the ball in the other guy’s court. This way, at the end of the day, I never have to worry about what tasks I still owe to whom. I just get them done the same day. Because I love what I do, I don’t think of it as work – even tedious tasks such as paying the bills, which are invariably part and parcel of “the work.” Consequently, I don’t mind working any hours of the day or night to get them done.
If I cannot handle all of them within a 16-hour period, that is the time to start saying, “no” to certain activities and/or clients. When you run your own business, you can regulate the amount of work you create for yourself.
When you practice the philosophy of always keeping the ball in the other guy’s court, you’d be amazed how stress-free your life will become. Try it, you may like it!
p.s. This blog is dedicated to Mr. Kyle M. Miller of KeyBank. His professionalism is beyond comparison.
