How Momentum Starts From Little Things

The other night I watched my college basketball team, Oklahoma State University, lose a ten point lead to their in-state rival (I won’t mention their name due to my deep animosity - only kidding).

The loss could be attributed to poor shooting, or sloppy turnovers, or to a series of small things started by their foes. One turnover, one free throw, one small pass, one great dunk, one three point shot from the other team, etc.

It is the small things that lead to large runs. In any organization you can watch this over and over again. For our business it started last April with two of our events reaching their budget amounts in a tough economy. That led to a key partnership, then a great new hire. A large contract led to many mid-sized deals. That led to a few other new great hires and then some more national publicity.

Remember, small runs lead to large runs. What series of events would you need to start a momentum run? Here are some ideas to consider.

Little Things That Become Big Things:

1. Authentic and deep thank you’s to key clients and partners.
2. Impromptu time with key leaders within your company.
3. Prayer, loads of it.
4. One new product innovation that serves clients well.
5. One new client - even a small one with potential can really build momentum.

Whenever you feel like the momentum is starting to flow then make sure execution starts to happen so that momentum stays hot. Practice to use time outs when you need to so that your team continues to roll. Watch a college basketball game specifically for the purpose of watching for momentum and then speak to your team about what you learned. It will be fascinating for you.

Little things make big differences.

Posted on January 18, 2010 in Business Growth