Golf Lessons for Leaders

By the time this column is published, the Minnesota golf season will be drawing to a close. For some of my friends, this is cause for grief; for others who have been my golf partners, it’s a time of silent relief.

Since I’m not a very good golfer, you may wonder why I punish myself (and others) by continuing to show up at the course. For people in my line of work, golfing is not just a sport, or “a good walk spoiled,” as Mark Twain once said. I am invited to a number of golf outings each year where I am expected to compete as well on the course as I do in business. And I have to admit that, although I enjoy golfing, it doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me. I battle a wave of anxiety before I attend one of those events.

Until now, I’ve tried to keep my anxiety a secret, because admitting that you’re not a decent golfer is like admitting you’ve got an infectious disease. In business circles, golf is so highly regarded that if you’re not at least a 10 handicap, you might as well join a leper colony.

Golf legend Ben Hogan said that "golf is 20 percent talent and 80 percent management."

So why do businesspeople love golf so much? The answer occurred to me at a recent church sermon, when my minister described golf as an “untidy” sport. The unpredictability and challenging nature of golf is as untidy and unpredictable as business leadership can be. The lessons we learn on the golf course are similar to those we learn in business, and the personal challenges, rewards, and anguish found on the course can also be found in the corner office.

Concentrate and Focus

Golf legend Bobby Jones once said, “Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course—the distance between your ears.” That’s evident when you watch the golfer who goes through all sorts of gyrations and adjustments before teeing off—then duffs it into the rough 50 yards away. This type of golfer isn’t focused or confident in his ability, and isn’t envisioning the end result of getting that darned little white ball into the tiny cup hundreds of yards away.

In business, these are the same leaders who lose sight of the vision and are easily distracted. They are reactionary, trying a strategy for six months, then a different one for another six months. Or they switch target markets (the equivalent of switching clubs).