Do you find it a regular struggle to progress in the direction of your goals?
Here are some examples:
- You have grown your business to a certain point but beyond that, you are not sure how to move forward.
- You are struggling to compete within your market place and you are constantly beaten down on prices and not sure what to do?
- In a nutshell, whatever the challenge is that you seem to be stuck with it and not sure how to proceed to the next level.
There are time when we are too close to our ideas and strategies that we struggle to move fast and move forward.
If so here is a concept (or a way of looking at your challenge) that may be of interest to you.
Kick the ‘ball’ in to the open space!
In football (soccer) when a player has got the ball, the opposing players crowd the player (who has got the ball) and start challenging to get the ball back. However skillful the player is, it could become difficult to move the ball forward towards the goal.
You got the ball. The opposing players want to challenge you head on. So what do you do?
Kick the ball in to open space. By doing this you have …
- Bought some time
- Avoided immediate head on challenge
- Misdirected your opposition
- Given you time to ‘lead’ a new ways of moving forward.
In the recent US-Russia-Syria chemical weapon talks, the Russians were being portrayed as being the bad boys for ‘vetoing’ all UN plans to attack Syria. Out of the blue, the Russians kicked the ball in to open space. They bought enough time to negotiate a deal with Syria and the United Nations.
At this point in time, the Russians appear to come ahead and have averted a war!
In business, where can you kick the ball in to open space?
- Manoj Bhargava, the owner of 5 Hour energy drink created one billion in retail sales, in a crowded market full of very powerful players. He did it be kicking the ball in to open space. He created his own product category – “Energy Shot” and others could not react quickly enough to take him on.
- Companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Twitter, Dyson and AirBNB are constantly kicking the ball in to open space and constantly creating new momentum and brining out innovative products and services to the market.
By kicking the ball in to open space, you are creating new dynamics. New dynamics mean you control the scene. You become the leader. Others will have to follow you!
Here are two video’s showing the concept of kicking the ball in to open space. One is by Maradona against England (sorry English Fans) in 1986 world cup and the other by Lionel Messi few decades later which looks identical to how Maradona did it.
Remember this
As soon as you kick the ball in to open space, you have created new possibilities. From now on, everything is going to depend on YOU. All your skills, whether it be leadership, strategy or execution, will come in to play. Where you end up will depend on how you employ those skills. In other words the ball in to open space gives you a temporary advantage. How you manage everything from that point will determine how closer you get to your goal.
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