In case you missed it on Sunday, the US Women’s soccer team beat Brazil. It wasnt just a win. It was a WIN. They were down a player for half the game. They scored in the final minute to send the game to a shootout, which they won.

Pundits point to two key things in the victory. Physical conditioning and leadership.

Nobody likes to do wind sprints but those, and all the other conditioning things, are basic elements of success in sport. In football we talk of blocking and tackling. The basics. What are the basics of success in your line of work? How well do you reconnect and recommit to them? We can all do better here. The soccer team is the best conditioned team at the World Cup.

The other point was that the leadership of the team maintained a good attitude. Their backs were against the wall but the senior players played with confidence and that transmitted to the team. These leaders set a positive example and the others followed. You can have a bad day but your people cannot have one because of it. Consider the example you set? Is it the one you want to set or is it by default? What do your people see and feel?

USA plays France tomorrow in the semi-final. They start at 0-0. Business is like that too. We always have a new project or a new quarter but the principles of success are timeless.

Well led people executing the basics.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.