HOW TO PLAY A GROWN
UP GAME OF BUSINESS
Melissa Browne
A
few years ago I watched my
nephew play football and it
was an unexpectedly amusing
and entertaining thirty minutes. That’s
because, and there’s no way of sugar
coating this, the boys and girls on the
field were absolutely terrible. They
either followed after the ball like a
swarming beehive or stopped to dance,
practice cartwheels or literally sat down
and smelled the flowers. Plus there was
no winner. Of course, the parents knew
exactly which team won, but the kids
weren’t out there to win.
Now it goes without saying that every
child on the field had an amazing
time, but it did get me thinking. That’s
because what is cute in kids is not
always quite so endearing in adults.
Say we turned up to watch Manchester
United this weekend - we wouldn’t
expect to see players stringing daisies
34
GLOSS JULY 2015
together in the backfield or joining
hands and skipping away from the ball.
We also wouldn’t expect to see a player
pick up the ball and pass it to another
player, netball style. Instead, we want
to see players who know the game, are
highly skilled, who understand their
role and are focussed and able to win.
In the game of business I think too
often we’re either playing a very
childish game, or we’re playing the
wrong type of game for the playing
field we’re on. Sure, we have lots of
activity and we feel worn out by the end
of the day, but it’s potentially the wrong
type of activity because it’s not leading
to the results we want.
A little like my nephew’s football game.
As I watched my nephew play, my mind
invariably wandered (as it often does) to
business and I started thinking about