Marshall Goldsmith Library: Is Winning Everything?

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TALENT MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE

Is Winning Everything?
It's important that you not only have a clear understanding of your
organization's objectives and the reasoning behind them, but also
an intense passion for performing well in your role.

by Marshall Goldsmith

As legendary football coach Vince Lombardi famously stated,

"Winning isn't everything - it's the only thing."

Less known, though, is his addendum to that chestnut: "If

winning isn't everything, then why do they keep score?"

We should expect to find such total devotion to victory in the

world of athletics. For the coach of a sports team, winning really
is everything. All the mental and physical preparation is aimed at
achieving one simple objective: Beating your opponent by scoring
more points, runs, goals, etc.

Is winning everything in business, though?

People in the corporate world certainly speak in those terms with

unfailing regularity, and they apply sports and even martial
metaphors to their missions.

But do these methods accomplish what they should in the sphere

of business - that is, motivating the workforce for the sake of
organizational success?

More importantly, what is our definition of winning?

Obviously, the meaning of winning will vary from company to

company. But let's say that it's defined as beating the main
competitor in your industry. What does that mean, really? Getting
more of its market share? Taking its high-potential employees?
Putting it out of business altogether?

What if the two companies (yours and theirs) are in a field that

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has become unprofitable? "Winning" in the narrow sense of

defeating the other organization ultimately will mean little if both
businesses fail to bring in more money than they're spending.

Whatever your concept of winning, it needs to serve the well-

being of your enterprise. Hence, it might not involve competition
with another organization. Granted, competition is usually a great
motivator for increased performance.

However, your concept of winning might be a process of continual

self-improvement, more akin to a sprinter who attempts to run
the 100-yard dash at quicker speeds than a football team looking
forward to a weekend match against its big rival.

It's about pride in the work you do - knowing that you've pushed
yourself to the best you can be, not because of the other guy out
there, but rather, because of the nagging voice inside you.

As talent managers, you should understand what your company

needs to fulfill its purpose and what you have to do to help it get
there.

Think about what workforce challenges stand between your

organization's overall mission and how you can help it surmount
those obstacles.

But even that's not enough - there's more to performance than

just winning.

From an individual point of view, having genuine interest and

excitement in doing what it takes to achieve those goals is as
important as actually achieving them, if not more so.

It's much harder to find the will to win if you don't believe in what
you're doing in the first place, and even if you do succeed, your
victories will ring hollow.

Sure, you might be able to run fast, but what does it matter if
music is your real passion? For you, placing first in a 5K will never
compare to playing back up in a band.

Therefore, it's important that you not only have a clear

understanding of your organization's objectives and the reasoning
behind them, but also an intense passion for performing well in
your role.

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As basketball coach Phil Jackson said, "Winning is important to

me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully
engaged in whatever I'm doing."

Or, to quote Vince Lombardi again, "If you aren't fired with
enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm."

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith's 24 books include "What Got You

Here Won't Get You There" - a New York Times best-seller,
Wall Street Journal #1 business book and Harold Longman
Award winner for Business Book of the Year. His latest
book "Succession: Are You Ready?" - is the newest edition
to the Harvard Business 'Memo to the CEO' series. His
personal website,
http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/, contains
hundreds of his articles and videos.

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