The Will To Win

As a person who enjoys playing and watching tennis, I cannot pass up the opportunity to comment on the men's Wimbledon championship match that took place this past Sunday between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Many have stated that this was not only the greatest Wimbledon championship match ever played, but quite possibly the greatest tennis match in the history of the game.

As a tennis fan, I was glued to the television with great anticipation of watching what was going to be a fantastic rematch of the last two years' championship match in which Federer kept true to form with what were great wins over Nadal. I could have never guessed the treat that we were all in store for with a five-set thriller ending in a 9-7 fifth set with Nadal knocking off the five-time reigning Wimbledon champ Federer. This was a clash of two incredible champions, both of whom possess an incredible will to win. Critical point after critical point, emotional highs and emotional lows, it was exhausting to watch, so I can only imagine the physical and emotional drain on the players!

So what place does this entry have on my blog? It provides a perfect metaphor for what it all comes down to in the business world when you are in a highly competitive atmosphere and have to find ways to continuously differentiate your business from the competition. You have to have the drive, desire and passion to reach a goal just like a Wimbledon champion. The drive, passion and determination demonstrated by both Federer and Nadal in the championship match of Wimbledon is representative of the level of performance a true difference maker or emerging industry leader will need to succeed in today's turbulent market.

Just imagine performing at extremely high levels of performance over an extended period of time. Then picture your entire organization performing at the highest levels of productivity. This mixture will put your organization in a great position to become a world-class organization, just like Federer and Nadal are world-class champions. The key is to make decisions and take actions that will put your company in a position to excel. Just like a great athlete who trains, selects equipment, hires a coach, practices, eats healthy, etc., you have to select the right mixtures of resources to create a champion caliber organization.

At the end of the championship match, Nadal prevailed becoming the only player to win both the French Open (which is played on clay courts) and Wimbledon (which is played on grass courts) since Bjorn Borg did it back in 1980. The grueling battle that lasted more than seven hours, two rain delays and ended just before play would be suspended due to lack of daylight left tennis fans exhausted and looking forward to the US Open in hopes of another rematch.

"Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome." -Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (7/10/43 – 2/6/93) prominent tennis player and humanitarian and author of his memoir Days of Grace. Arthur Ashe won three Grand Slam titles and became the first African American ever selected to the US Davis Cup team, and he remains the only African American player ever to win the men's singles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, or Australian Open.