Snooker or Football: How Do You Do Business?
Snooker and football culture are completely different. And if there are such completely different ways to compete as a global sports star, there certainly are different ways of doing business. What’s your style?
A while ago, I witnessed a great example of why I love snooker so much. John Higgins, four times world champion and number 7 on the world ranking list played a very thin red ball (meaning he used the white cue ball to just barely touch the red ball and then return to its original position). He was convinced he had missed it, which constutes a foul. This would give his opponent 4 extra points and a great tactical advantage.
But here’s the screamer: he reported it himself.
And the fun didn’t end there, because when the referee stuck to her guns, stating she had seen the red ball move, Higgins persisted and demanded he be penalized. The referee then left the arena to watch the video footage with her assistant. Conclusion: no foul, play on.
By that time, the crowd and both players were cracking up with laughter.
Gentleman’s sport
Snooker is a it’s a gentleman’s sport. This means many decisions concerning rule enforcement and gameplay are not taken by the referee alone, but after deliberation between the referee and the two players.
Putting back the ball after a foul? The ref asks the players if he’s got it right. Game stuck in an impasse? Any of the players or the referee can suggest to start the frame over with a ‘rerack’. But this only happens if everyone agrees.
I don’t know of any other sport where this happans at a top professional level, with players competing over hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money.
Try, for example, to imagine a top football player (I’m European, so I’m going with the ‘real’ football here, but feel free to fill in an American Football analogy if you’re so inclined) like Lionel Messi scoring a goal and demanding the referee to disallow the goal, because of some foul or other. The whole world would be talking about that for weeks.
But what, you ask, is this all to do with doing business?
Success, but not at all cost
In my work, I try to be like John Higgins. I want to be sucessful, but not at any cost. If I screw something up, I will tell a client or coworker affected that I screwed it up. And if they want to shout at me for it, pay me less or even stop working with me, so be it. Sometimes, I charge less hours for a job than I could, because I feel I’ve not been as productive as I could have been. Sometimes, I work for free because that feels like the right thing to do. Often, I will advise a client in the first sales conversation, contrary to what all the gurus tell you to do. Because I enjoy contributing to another person’s success.
I do these things because they feel right, although rationally, I know they’re costing me money, time and effort. In the short term, because I’m convinced that, in the long run, I am more profitable because of exactly this behavior.
Different, not evil
That absolutely doesn’t mean doing businoss ‘football-style’ is wrong. It’s just different. I know many people who do business in a much more rational and, if you will, tough way. These are not evil people. There is nothing wrong with sticking to your guns when it comes to payment and contracts and a sharp negotiation style, especially if you’re in a business where this is the accepted culture. Everybody knows the rules, and as long as you don’t actually screw anyone, you’re ok. It also has the advantage of creating clear boundaries in work relationships, which is something I tend to struggle with.
How do you do business? Snooker or football?
