Finney, our cocker spaniel, loves to play fetch on his long, energetic walks.
I’ve noticed that he sets off to chase the ball before it’s even been thrown. He has a slight glance as to where I’m planning to launch the ball, but then runs away to where he thinks it’s going to land.
Sometimes Finney gets it wrong and ends up in the wrong place – in which case he rapidly changes direction and sprints to the right location – but nine times out of ten he’s within a few yards of where the ball bounces as it lands. He then shifts his weight to catch it in his mouth on the first bounce, before proudly trotting back to me to start the process all over again.
Finney’s playing the percentages to try and get an advantage to reach the ball as quickly as possible. Wayne Gretzky, the Canadian hockey player, once famously said that the secret to his scoring success was the fact that, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it’s been.” Finney has the same approach.
What about your business? Are you focused on the market and new growth opportunities as they currently exist, or, like Finney, are you using your knowledge and insight to work out where the opportunities are going to be? And how are you then positioning your organisation and resources to ensure that you’re the first to take advantage of them?
Off The Record: Diamond Dogs by David Bowie
Well, she’s come, been and gone
Come out of the garden, baby
You’ll catch your death in the fog
Young girl, they call them the Diamond Dogs
Young girl, they call them the Diamond Dogs
© Stuart Cross 2019. All rights reserved.