I confess that I am not a big NBA fan. I love team play and feel the NBA, for whatever reason, has become a very individualistic sport. It seems that only the teams with three superstars have any chance. I once was a huge fan and may one day be again, but not until some things change with the game.
Speaking of change, halftime in any sport is a time where adjustments should be made to improve second half performance. In life and in business, second half adjustments are also important. If things didn’t go well in the first half, as a leader, team or individual, you can’t expect them to change unless you make adjustments to your approach. Einstein’s definition of insanity is ‘doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.’
The Golden State Warriors recently defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games to win the NBA Championship, 4-1. In game five, the Warriors led at halftime and the Cavaliers couldn’t overcome that deficit. I didn’t even watch the game but did look at the box score. The Cavaliers cut the lead to five points by the end of the third quarter, but that was as close as they would get, getting sent home for the summer following the game. One of the stars for the Cavaliers, Kevin Love, had only nine points in the game. Perhaps he was left in the game when he should have been replaced with someone else. Who knows? Or maybe adjustments were made, and the team simply failed to execute. Regardless, Cleveland did not make the appropriate changes to win the game and ultimately the title.
Many businesses get to the end of June and aren’t on track to reach their goals. This is halftime for the year, and a great time to adjust. Those adjustments may range from cutting expenses to laying off workers. Very few organizations ramp up operations to grow out of problems. I wonder if such a strategy could be effective. Is being offensive riskier than being defensive? In healthcare that might mean doing some marketing to attract patients or to tout concierge-like service and care. Though competing for patients may seem foreign to some, falling into financial difficulty is much worse than getting commercially assertive and trying to establish a larger patient population. Without supporting finances coming in from the patient base, care will ultimately suffer.
Are you on target with your resolutions or goals from the beginning of the year? If not, what are you going to do now? You can’t ignore your situation and not do something about it. If you are like me, you sometimes find yourself lagging behind your goals by mid-year. I often change my goals because life changes and plans are built to be dynamic and not static, but goals are still important for a reason and must be kept in perspective when making changes. Since every gain is a gain and win is a win, plans can change and you can still have a successful year.
What about your personal life? Do you have a 2017 plan? If so, it is almost halftime for you. Do you need to make adjustments to have a better second half? If not, why not?
The key to all of this is the word ‘change.’ If my amateur speculation about the Cavaliers and Kevin Love is accurate, he played too much in the second half when someone else should have been in the game. I believe he played 30 or more minutes and I know that he is not known for playing great defense. So why was Love in so long when having an off night offensively? I can only speculate that the coach was hoping he would ignite and play the way he had for much of the playoffs, which according to many opinions was excellent.
If you are slipping in your performance as an employee or a business, be careful not to stay the course for the wrong reasons. Emotions, biases, and sentiments can be costly variables that need to be closely analyzed and not allowed to be an obstruction. There is a great deal that can be said on this topic alone and I may offer that in a subsequent blog. I have made those mistakes several times through the years and still do on occasion, so I have a fair amount to share on the subject.
When you refuse to adjust, whether in your personal life or organization, the consequences can become large prices to pay. Nothing should go without scrutiny and there should never be any sacred cows or untouchables. Continuous assessment, accountability and change leads to on-going improvement. If we have wisdom, clarity of vision and courage to make changes we can always get better. It’s halftime, what adjustments will you make?