Bump… Set… Spike It

That’s the way I like it…

Five times a week there is a group of us in Allen, TX that play Wallyball at Lifetime Fitness. It is one of the most fun games I have ever played and one of the most educational.

When it comes to sports, many people play at their peak performance and they are so focused on their own skills that they neglect to pay attention to the skills of their opponents. This is what separates the Average Joes from the Pros. I think instinctively you need to be aware of what your opponent is going to do before they do it. You have to constantly be understanding their strengths and weaknesses and instead of constantly trying to improve your core set of skills – exploit their weaknesses!

This same strategy can be applied in the business world. When you understand your opponent you can better align yourself for success.

Another important part of success is surrounding yourself with people who are skilled and to fully understand their strengths as well. If you have a strong fat guy on your team he would be used for power moves where a more agile person would be used for speed moves. Both are often necessary, but when used inappropriately both can be worthless.

For me, working alone I don’t have a set of team members to help me bump and set – which are crucial when playing  a skilled team in Wallyball or Volleyball. Spiking it is great, but hard to do without a perfect set. So I often find myself just spiking it and sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t – but for now I’m still in the self-employment game and I’m hanging in there.