Crouch, touch, pause… engage! Business lessons from Rugby I


t’s a phrase that could be the title of a blockbuster Kung Fu movie, or perhaps a chapter from the latest sex manual, but it’s more important than any of that. We’re talking rugby. As all keen rugby followers know this mantra is recited by the referee before every scrum, that intense 16 man wrestle that is the heart of the game.


Rugby is a weekend activity for most and only comes into our working hours when we do that post match analysis by the coffee machine. But perhaps rugby can do more for our business. Whether your playing field is Eden Park or the world of commerce many of the basic principles can still apply. Let’s start with analysing that phrase.


Crouch – prepare and position yourself Get your business into the right position and be prepared for what your opposition will hit you with.


Get the right team around you – not


just your staff, but also the right suppliers, bankers, advisors and shareholders. In most businesses the operations team is the engine room, the locks, whereas sales are probably those outside backs who get the glory most often, but only because the platform has been laid by the guys upfront.


Get into good shape – ensure you and your team are ready to do business with ongoing training and hard work. Even the best need to have regular skills training and practice.


Touch – put out feelers, look and learn Get a feel of your playing field before you start.


Assess the conditions underfoot, are the conditions good or bad, do you have a firm base or are you unsteady?


100 November/December 2010


Assess your competitors – are they strong or looking as if they are under pressure?


As Jack Welch, legendary CEO of GE for


20 years, once said: “More often than not business is smell, feel, and touch as much as or more than numbers.”


Pause – stop and think Stop for a moment and check everything is OK. Are you ready? If not, break away and stop.


Stopping is often harder than carrying on, because people are pushing you from behind. Be decisive, go back to your starting point and crouch again.


Don’t use a pause as a reason to stop unless there are good reasons though, you can’t win if you don’t get in the game.


Engage – action Your first contact is the most important, make an impression with your first hit. Hold firm, use your strengths, keep your structure and do the simple basics well. Remember that a good combination is better than one or two strong individual players. If things break down, get back up on your feet and start again.


Engage also means getting involved with your own team. Keep your fellow team members pushing forward, motivated and confident. Have you noticed when an All Black makes a mistake their teammates will often give them a pat on their back and encourage them. That isn’t the time to criticize, but rather to move on and keep their self confidence intact.


After the scrum – multi-task Today everyone has to be flexible, can you run like a back, i.e. do sales; cover defence,


Business Money


Simon Thompson, CEO, Lock Finance, tel: +64 9 375 8516, www.lockfinance.co.nz


i.e. manage risks, and think ahead? Be ready to move from one phase to another. Remember the other rugby basics are also essentials of business:


Speed – we need to be quick to assess, act and react as events occur.


Skills – we need to use our natural strengths plus acquired skills from work and ongoing training.


Teamwork – as Vince Lombardi the legendary US football coach said: “Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilisation work.”


Rugby is a sport, a great game. But it doesn’t have to be something we just do in the weekend. Next time you play or watch it think about how you can apply some of the basic principles when you are on your mid- week playing field.


Most of all, enjoy the game!


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