I want a team that knows how to recover from them.
I had a bad day yesterday, happy to confess. I've told anyone who will listen that I had hip replacement surgery a few weeks back (and obviously sharing that to the masses now for maximum attention and sympathy) and lack of sleep culminated into a less than productive day yesterday. It frustrated me. Not as much as it's frustrating me not being able to play golf though!
But it got me thinking this morning... Mainly about Golf. I love Golf! Not because I'm particularly good at it -but because it's one of the best lessons in resilience you'll ever get. You can stripe one straight down the middle on the 1st... then completely lose the plot by the 3rd. That's recruitment. That's business. That's leadership. At Eutopia Search, Rohit Shah and I talk a lot about performance, growth, winning. But here's what I believe:
It's not your bad shot that defines your round - it's your next one.
You're going to find the bunker. You're going to hit one into the trees. You're going to three-putt when you absolutely shouldn't.
And in business? A deal falls through. A client changes direction. You have a day when nothing quite clicks. You're unproductive because you had a shocking nights sleep. Yes even business owners / bosses / leaders have these days.
What matters isn't pretending it didn't happen. It's how quickly - and how safely - you can reset. The best golfers don't spiral after a bad hole. They step up to the next tee with intent. That's the culture I care about building. At Eutopia Search I want people to feel comfortable saying "today wasn't my best."
No judgement. No drama. No silent pressure.
Because resilience isn't built by ignoring bad days. It's built by supporting recovery.
- A conversation instead of criticism.
- Perspective instead of panic.
- Teammates and friends who remind you you're human (and you're still in the round and might still break 90!)
One bad hole doesn't ruin 18. One tough day doesn't define a career. Shake it off. Reset your stance. Pick your target. Write a blog!
I believe that the culture any business is trying to build is more defined by how you respond and react to your bad days than your good ones! And it's the people in the photo above (and our new boy of course) that are there to pull me (and each other) out of the bad days when they happen. Thanks team!
