Rod Davis
Being such a complex game, one where even if money is plentiful time is limited, the modern America’s Cup has been dominated by people capable of ruthless prioritising in terms of the final goal. Dennis Conner (below) and Russell Coutts (opposite) have that big-picture clarity in spades. Coutts’s modus operandi is to instantly cancel a promising line of development if he feels those resources might deliver a bigger gain elsewhere. Conner was the ultimate end-game competitor; famously for his 1987 challenge, when he relieved the Australians of the Cup they took off him four years earlier, he committed to a large, powerful boat (below) that he knew would defeat the Defender in the big breeze of the Match while fully aware it would take outstanding sailing to survive the lighter opening rounds – unhesitating commitment to ‘the plan’
Just the three (commandments)
Challenges and opportunities are linked to each other. In sport or business the thinking, if not the actual plan, is to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities. And they are basically the same. First of all, the goal (objective); then how we are going to get there (the plan); and finally the
execution (doing). As I write this I have one of those challenges, one that will push me out of my normal coaching/sailing role, but when it comes together it will be very cool. This column is not about that job (that job being the new sailing
director for the Royal Akarana Yacht Club) but about how to ensure that the opportunities are brought to life… by following the three commandments. First commandment: start with goals, a vision or the objective,
call it whatever you want. They really mean the same thing. What end result do ‘we’ want? Might be best to start even further back with ‘who be we?’ Knowing those two things, who be we first, and what is the objective, are mission crucial. Take your time to make sure that you have clearly got the objective
right, because it is the most important part of the whole equation. This really is mission critical – fail here and you are doomed to fail in the end. After the Vietnam War the senior North Vietnamese general summed up the failure of the US policy: ‘When you get the strategy wrong, and the tactics right, you win battles but lose wars.’ Once you have the objectives put them at the top of every white
board at every meeting. Put them on the mirror so you see them when you brush your teeth twice a day. They define what we are about. We must stay true to the vision. Great, we’ve got no more than three to five objectives. Now it’s time to start on the how we go about achieving them. The pieces
28 SEAHORSE
of the puzzle, if you will. This is where the Kiwis have been very clever over the years by employing the philosophy of what they call the Tin Shed mentality. Basically it means you only spend money or time on the things that will make an actual difference to the outcome. It’s not about building an empire but about being efficient in all aspects. NASA used top engineers and spent millions of dollars to create
a pen that could have the ink flow at any angle in the weightlessness of space. Thus they could make notes during their space missions. The Russians used a pencil!!! I have used that story many times to illustrate the tin shed
thinking. A few years ago I learned the story about the pencil was not really true. So disappointing, but it does not change the lesson. So I still use it! The pieces of the puzzle include funds, equipment, structure and
people. The first two, funds (or profits) and equipment, are very much goal specific. If you are manufacturing widgets you have different needs than
a sailing team. The last two, structure and people, will always be there and they are what we are going to touch on. It does not matter if your objectives are related to sport, building houses or publishing Seahorse Magazine – people and structure are things you have to get right and they are often the trickiest to make right. More of a liquid than a solid, always changing shape. People: this is the hardest part of sport, business or life. We
need good people who have a true passion for the objectives. We don’t need big names who want to clip the ticket; we need partners with passion and desire. But I am getting ahead of myself. Before thinking of who, think
‘what’ we need. By defining the skill set needed and the basic structure you will end up getting to the ‘who’ part of the equation.
MAX RANCHI
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