Are you ready for the Playoffs

I wanted to comment on an event I attended today - 500 or so business professionals were gathered and had an opportunity to hear Rich Gotham speak. Sometimes the timing is perfect at these events and since the Boston Celtics are in the playoffs and Rich is the President of that organization everything he said seemed to be even more pertinent.
Obviously Rich is not out on the floor playing with the team - but it was interesting to hear how the internal organization had to be aligned to win; before the players could even begin to string together a season like this one!
Let me share some of the main points that Rich shared and that I thought helpful to any business.
1.In the playoffs everyone brings their game and winning is tougher - in a recession every business is fighting harder for every piece of business and yes winning is tougher!
2.Turn traditional thinking on its head - Rich accomplished this by changing sponsors, redesigning the way tickets could be purchased and bringing the business in before they were winning - if your traditional business or customer is not meeting your targets are you looking for new?
3.Know your market - The Celtics do extensive research to understand what their customers want and who their customers are - this should be an obvious application.

During the civil war Jeb Stuart utilized all of these techniques when his cavalry unit started to operate differently than traditional cavalry. They became the eyes and ears of General Lee and often were instrumental in helping the confederacy "compete".

So Tuesday Night is Game One for the Celtics next challenge. As you get comfortable and sit back in front of the TV tonight it's OK to be impressed with Garnet and Pierce but don't forget that every winning team and every winning player has some type of support system that makes that possible. Don't just focus on your "players" and don't just focus on the "organization". You have to focus on both to have a winning season!