After 111 years of trying, Ireland finally beat the New Zealand All Blacks in Chicago on Saturday 5th November 2016. The final score was 40 points to Ireland 29 point to the All Blacks, to some this was a historic victory, to others it’s just another game.
Whatever your opinion there are lessons to be learnt from this game. Many SME (small to medium enterprises) often think they can’t compete against the big guns, they are too powerful and connected for us to take them on. How true is this statement? How many of us say ‘Don’t bother we don’t have a chance”?
But hold on, let’s just look at sport for a few minutes. Dr Roger Banister ran the 4-minute mile in Oxford UK on the 6th May 1952. So, what was so special about that, well for over a thousand years humans were trying to achieve the 4-minute mile with little success. Experts said (at the time) the human body was not capable of running the 4-minute mile and it was dangerous to try. The Romans even tried chasing people with Loins to achieve it but it didn’t work – I’m not sure what happened to the runners in that race!
What is amazing is that once Dr Roger Bannister ran the 4-minute mile, many people since then have achieved the 4 minute mile. It’s part training and part psychology, you need belief, passion and the ability to practice, practice, practice and believe in yourself.
The Irish game was written off by many pundits before the game and even the commentators from New Zealand at the game were quietly confident that it would be another tough game from the Irish but they would be beaten by the All Blacks as usual. Was this compliancy? Arrogance? Or just normal expectations?
Think about big organizations, they are always sure they will win against the small guys, because of their reputation? But is that enough in today’s digital arena. A digital guru, trained and guided me on the importance of digital media in today’s business. It gives SME’s the opportunity to take on the big boys on a level playing field. You don’t need a big marketing budget or TV advertising, just a good digital media strategy and you’re now in the game.
So, take the Irish approach, believe in yourself, be passionate about what you do and have a good digital media strategy. If Dr Roger Banister can do it and Ireland finally beat the All Blacks just think what your company could do?
Look at some of the SME’s of yesterday: Airbnb, Dropbox, Salesforce.com all started off as SME and grew their business, yes hard work was a key but similar to what Ireland did, they had belief it could be done, they had passion, they knew they were good, they worked closely as a team and kept each other motivated.
At one stage during the game the All Blacks got within 4 points of the Ireland score. This was a tactic the All Blacks used for years to make the opposition think they were winning and as soon as they took their foot off the gas (relaxed), they came back and beat you. For many that would be the point of giving in, but like Bannister and Ireland, you have to go the extra mile, and then the most amazing thing happens you achieve great success.
Ask yourself could you do it, are you ready to take on the big guns, it may not work the first time or the second and maybe not the third time, but like Airbnb, Dropbox and Salesforce.com your time will come and you’ll be glad you tried.
In conclusion, sometimes the impossible is possible, if you believe in yourself! Take the initiative, discuss with your team, look at what you thought was not worth trying for, review your digital media strategy, if you don’t have one you will be out of the game. Think about it?