Robert Not Bob

We did a first this past week in the Neill household – we had a family golf outing. I have to say that it was a very interesting foursome.

I am far from being a great golfer. I play 4-6 times a year, which means I am at best a hacker. My wife hadn’t played a round of golf in 20 years before this family outing. My older daughter had taken a few lessons over the past three years but is mildly and I mean very mildly interested in golf. And finally my younger daughter as you know from prior blogs is the avid golfer of the family.

I took an afternoon off from work, which I highly recommend people do from time to time, and we headed out to Harvey Penick Golf Campus. Harvey Penick is a 9-hole course geared toward the less advanced golfer; a great place for a round when you have a foursome like what I have described. This is also the home to First Tee of Austin (www.thefirstteeaustin.org/) which a great organization helping the youth of the Austin area. It is not luxury country-club experience but is an enjoyable track that also has a few challenges.

The round was fun. There were lost balls, numerous whiffs, a foot wedge here and there, and with the older daughter a few blatant violations of the rules of golf. There were also a few laughs in there and some smiles. The scores were nothing spectacular – one each in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. We will just leave it at that.

As usual when the time on the course was done, I reflected back on the round. I was playing with a brand new set of irons I received at Christmas – replacements for the ones I had used for 17 years. All I can say is “Wow.” Clubs make a difference. I was hitting shots I never hit before in my life. It made we wish I had asked (or just gone and bought) for new clubs years ago. It was also obvious that my wife (and she said it before I did) needs some lessons after a 20 year hiatus. I won’t say any more than that because I do not want to get in trouble. It was also very apparent that while the older child has potential and some basic skills, she lacks the desire and patience to be a golfer. Golf is just not her thing. And finally the young golfer of the family once again showed that she has a beautiful swing and a head for the game but lacks the consistency at this stage of her development as a golfer. She also reminded me that trying too hard to impress (say your mother who has never seen you on the course) can sometimes mess up your game.

So what I saw on the course on that fun filled afternoon, an afternoon that is sure to be talked about for years to come, is also something many of us also see in our professional lives on a regular basis. Each member of the foursome highlighted a critical factor for success in business. These four factors are:

1. Tools matter
2. Training matters
3. Passion or at least an interest in what you do is important
4. Consistent execution is a must

Many of us have either said or heard someone else say something like, “if I just had a new computer I could get more done or make more sales.” In my role, I certainly hear this all the time. There always seems to be a need for the latest laptop, iPhone/iPad, MS Office Version, cloud app, and on and on. I hear it so often that at time all I hear is the buzzing noise of people wanting things versus needing valuable business tools. Employees and line managers play an important role in making sure that they have the tools they need to be successful. They must take steps to make sure that requests for new tools convey the business value to be realized and not just be another “ask” to spend money. Just as important, decision makers must take steps to not fall into the trap of just hearing the static and actually listen to what front line employees are saying they need to be more productive.

As much as tools matter, so does training. Employees must have the knowledge required to execute daily tasks, use existing and new tools, and keep up with changes in the business’s environment. Many people think training is the sole responsibility of the company, not the employee. Many have the expectation that their company must foot the bill for all training and/or that the only training needed is that which is mandated by their employer. While companies certainly need to make an investment in providing task specific training, training on internal processes/procedures/policies, and training for tools that are used in the execution of tasks, employees must also make a personal investment in training. This personal investment can be something as informal as reading profession specific articles and white papers; or attending vendor or industry-group sponsored events; or something a little more formal like online training courses, or even very formal training such as obtaining a professional certification or a college degree. This personal investment can not only add value to your current company; it can also help propel your career to a higher level. In the end, whether company-supplied or employee provided, the best training is the training you want to receive and that you have vested interest in completing.

Be Passionate about your job. I have written about this one already (see Life is Short: Find Your Passion) but it is worth writing about again. Your level of passion (or at least some semblance of interest) for your job/career plays a huge part in the quality of your work performance. The more you like what you do, the more likely that you will give your all when executing your daily tasks, and thus to more value you will add to your company. Over time this will result in success for your company and for you personally.

You can have the tools. You can have the training. You can have the passion. But the real secret to success is putting those things together on a consistent basis. Put another way – in order to achieve long-term success you must flawlessly execute on a consistent basis. This is much easier said than done. We are after all humans, not machines. This means that none of us can be “on our game” all the time. There will be days or at perhaps parts of days where we fail to be firing on all cylinders. The key is to bring your skills, your tools and your passion together as best you can on a regular basis. Consistent execution is truly the key to long term success.

So once again, a round of golf has provided me with not only valuable time with members of my family but also a time to reflect about my own career and business in general. Fortunately for the Neill family our shortcomings on the course did not hinder what we were trying to achieve on that pretty Spring afternoon – we were spending time together and making memories. If only success in the business world could be so easy.

This is a follow up to an entry I made several weeks back on Lessons From The Course. 

I once again had the privilege to serve as caddie for my daughter as she played in another local golf tournament.  If you recall from earlier this month, my last experience as caddie was less than perfect.  So the question is: Did I learn from that experience?

Before I get to the answer to the question, I need to set the stage for my state of mind as I was driving her to the course on a blustery (the winds were blowing 15-20 mph) Sunday afternoon. 

In addition to serving as my daughter’s caddie, I also co-coach her youth league basketball team.  Her last game of the season was on Saturday.  The season had been full of intense games – almost too intense for “church league” hoops for 3^rd and 4^th graders.  The team had some good wins, including one with a game winning shot as time expired to snag victory from defeat.  There were also some tough losses in which there was some unneeded tension with opposing coaches and officials.   And during all the games, there was lots of sideline coaching – I dare shamefully call it “micro-coaching.”

Our routine for the prior 7 games was to gather the players 10 minutes before the game and go over strategy and plays.  Remind them to set screens on offense, get rebounds and how to fight through screens on defense.  Half-time was spent going over what was working well, talking about shooting percentages and begging them to get more rebounds.  For the last game of the season, my co-coach asked me “so what do you want to tell them for pre-game?” I paused for a moment and said “Nothing, other than go have fun.”  So that is what we told them – “Go Have Fun.” No talk of screens, or spread offense sets, or help defense.  As the game unfolded, we yelled very few instructions from the sidelines, and for the most part we just let the girls play.  We provided words of encouragement when they came out of the game and provided some individual guidance as we rotated players but the “micro-coaching” was no more.  Surprisingly they called out plays, set screens, got rebound after rebound and helped each other on defense – all without two “forty-something” coaches constantly yelling out instructions at them.

It ended up being the most enjoyable game of the season – more enjoyable for the players; more enjoyable for the coaches, and I think even more enjoyable for the parents watching the game.  Our girls ended the season with a 22-12 victory.  More importantly, after two months of practice and playing they were able to do it without constant coaching from the sidelines.  They had reached a point where that that was no longer needed.  These young girls were becoming self-sufficient on the court.

Fast forward to Saturday night, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to an article, Are We Raising a Generation of Helpless Kids?  The article basically argues that parents of Gen Y kids (those born between 1984 and 2002) have been consumed with protecting their children to a point where Gen Y kids are not prepared to be self-sufficient adults.  It goes on to say that parents of this generation do everything possible to make sure their kids do not fail.  Essentially it states that many parents have been micro-managing every aspect of their children’s lives, carefully orchestrating each moment to create the perfect childhood. It was a thought provoking article – not only because my own kids are in the tail-end of that generation but also because the older kids of Gen Y are becoming more common place in the work environment.  My initial reaction was that the article was directionally correct but not spot on to the point where my kids and certainly not I as a parent could be included in that generalization.

So now fast forward to Sunday afternoon and that drive to the golf course.  I had my mind set that I was not going to be the overbearing caddie/golf advisor/dad as my precious 9 year old daughter navigated yet another challenging golf course.  As she warmed up, I kept my distance.  I handed her club after club and she went through her pre-round warm up – but I said little other than the occasional “nice shot” comment.    The first hole was a long par 5, into the wind, with a water-carry in front of the green.  What a way to start a round.  You could tell the group in front of her was grinding through the hole and her group found it a challenge as well.  But I was trying hard to keep my word and not micro-manage her play, so I kept my guidance to a minimum.  After a penalty stroke for making a splash and a brutal 3-putt, she painfully recorded a triple bogey on the first hole.  

The next three holes would test my promise to not be all in her business, to not direct her every move.  I could feel the urge to line up every shot for her, to tell her how hard to swing on each stroke.  And I think she could feel it too.  The 4^th hole was especially painful; a pretty drive took a bad bounce to the left and ended up in a greenside sandtrap.  A bounce to the right and she would have been looking at a 10-12 foot putt for an eagle.  As she entered the trap, I could not resist reminding her to not over hit the shot as the green was small and on the other side of the green was a steep slope down to a creek.   So she blasted it out of the sand and ended up off the green on the other side of the hole, down the hillside, resting inches away from the creek.  I could feel myself shaking my head, basically saying without saying “I told you not to do that.”  A decent pitch from the edge of the hazard and a follow-up pitch had her on the green “in 4” – about 15 feet away from the hole.  Four putts later, each with more and more verbal direction from me, she finishes the hole.

As we walked to the next tee, I started telling her how important it was to make good chip shots around the green and that 4-putting was just a killer.  She finally looked at me with those sweet brown eyes of hers and said “Dad, I know what I need to do.  How about for the rest of the round, you just let me ask you for advice when I think I need it.”   How could I respond to that, other than to agree and think to myself how pitifully I had failed to uphold my promise to not micro-manage her round? 

So on the next hole, I handed her the driver and quickly removed myself from the tee box.   She lined herself up and hit a pretty drive, she followed that up with a great approach shot into the green and then two-putted for a par.  The only advice I provided was when she asked “9 iron or pitching wedge?” on the approach shot. 

All I could do when that par putt drop in the cup was to hug her and give her a big ole kiss.  Not because she made a par, but because she once again taught me a lesson.  She showed me that there are times when you have to let go and give your kid a chance to succeed or fail on her own.  She was becoming self-sufficient on the course and little by little in her life as well.

So you know I like to somehow tie these back into the world of business, so here goes.  Much like I as a parent have to let my kids fly on their own even if at times it ends in failure, I as a manager have to let my employees fly on their own as well.  I have to provide employees with training and instruction on what to do, make sure they have the right tools, and put them in situation where they can succeed.  But assuming those things are in place, it is up to the individual to actually execute.  I should be there to provide advice if asked, but I cannot micro-manage every aspect of that server configuration, that line of code, or those detailed tasks during a midnight network maintenance.  Employees must ultimately execute the tasks assigned to them without constant manager intervention – even it at times the results are less than perfect.  We learn so much more from successes and failures when they are actually ours – and that is how we become better at our jobs.

So back to the question:  Did I learn from that previous experience on the course?

I think the answer is “Yes.” 

But I learned from this one as well.  I once again feel more enlightened after spending time on the course with my daughter.  Perhaps I should encourage her to enter more golf tournaments – at this rate I might become the wisest man on earth.