WE lived in Kuala Lumpur for a year. Much of this welcoming country is intriguing and attractive. Its location for my business in Asia was advantageous. One of the attractions is wonderful food at attractive prices. Not an attraction was the KL traffic, which needs to be avoided at all costs. A highlight is the beauty of the country and the diverse landscape.
But the next thing we discovered is badminton, yes the game of badminton. We lived in an apartment building which included a world-standard badminton court, so we decided to get a racquet and try it out. I am a tennis player who is keen on squash, but badminton was never on my list of games. I ignorantly regarded the game as light and lacking excitement and never took the opportunity to try it. But to my surprise and pleasure I discovered that badminton required reflexes, agility, speed, eye hand co-ordination, strategic thinking, etc. Like business!
So my son and I tentatively begin our first game. We were actually playing our own version of allowing hitting on a “bounce”! Few went over but soon we got it right and played properly. My main point is this game requires more than we thought! Many things in life can look easy until we try it. Most organisational roles take a selection of talents to get the most from their position. It takes training, practice, coaching, persistence and real effort. Like badminton we try different approaches in management.
What I found amazing is that there are many business principles that parallel badminton.
You need agility, you need speed, precision, anticipation, amazing reaction, a strategy, finesse, you need to be prepared, flexibility, stamina, stretching, solid fitness, lateral movements, stroke skills for competitive advantage and visualisation
You cannot allow losing concentration in business. We need to react quickly. We need to read the flow of the game. We need to strategise.
Deception is also important. Expert players prepare for many different strokes that look identical, and use slicing to deceive their opponents about the speed or direction of the stroke.Sometimes in business we need to use deception. In badminton “deception” is when the opponent thinks that different stroke is coming, but something different happens. Experienced players are aware of the trick and cautious not too move to early. This can force the opponent to delay his movements slightly. Or, anticipate a stroke to gain advantage.
Beyond the basics, however, badminton offers rich potential for advanced stroke skills that provide a “competitive advantage”.
To win in badminton requires a wide variety of strokes in the right situation. Such it is in business
Reaction time means badminton has been called the fastest racquet sport. A smashed shuttlecock travels shorter distances than a tennis ball. Badminton holds the record for the fastest initial speed of the racquet sport projectile. React too late in business and you lose out.
Strategy: To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes in the right situations. These range from powerful jumping smashes to delicate tumbling net returns. Often rallies finish with a smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For example, a netshot can force the opponent to lift the shuttlecock, which gives an opportunity to smash. If the netshot is tight and tumbling, then the opponent’s lift will not reach the back of the court, which makes the subsequent smash much harder to return.
Strategy is using the right business tactic at the right time. We need to plan. “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. If an opponent tries to anticipate the stroke, he may move in the wrong direction and may be unable to change his body momentum in time to reach the shuttlecock.
Note: In actuality, badminton is considered one of the fastest sports in the world today as well as the fastest sport involving the use of a racquet. Reaching speeds of up to 90.0 m/s (201 mph), a badminton shuttlecock can travel faster than a Eurostar train at its maximum in-service speed of 83.3 m/s (186.4 mph). Fu Haifeng of China set the official record of the fastest badminton shuttlecock speed at about 92.1 m/s (206 mph) on June 3, 2005.
On the matter of who won my son or me? Let’s just say I did my best, and he is going to be a very good businessman!
See you next week.
* Coles International Training and Corporate Consultancy is based in Australia. It researches, develops and delivers learning and organistional solutions to clients’ needs and problems around the world. For more information, please visit www.colestraining.com, or email: colestraining@gmail.com. Ph: +61 434152545
