The NHL playoffs are just getting underway, and the excitement is mounting in both players and fans alike. For some business owners, this may be the only distraction they will allow. I, for one, have been tuning into each home team game, feeling more and more pressed for business time - I wonder why! While watching last night's game, it struck me how similar the playoff mentality is to how we should be conducting our businesses, and what we can learn as business owners from our hockey addiction!



When the players hit the ice, they have a game plan that is the result of an entire season's worth of planning, hard work, wins, losses, injuries, good and bad plays, penalties, teamwork, goal setting, and evaluation to name a few. Teams don't make it to the playoffs without going through this process and without working hard to achieve success. Similarly, in business, we start out with a business plan, and before we reach a successful level, we have to work hard at setting and achieving our goals; We may win some, we may lose some; We make mistakes, pick ourselves up again, evaluate our progress, and alter the plan until we come up in profit.

The playoffs are a time of incredible focus, and you can see this in the players' eyes on the bench and on the ice. They are focused on one thing, despite distractions from the cheering crowd, and despite what else is going on in their lives. No matter what, they are focused on their personal and team achievement, and that sweet taste of champaign from the Stanley Cup that could soon be theirs. But this doesn't come without focus, hard work, persistence, determination, consistency, and courage. When you see the oxygen tanks coming out for the triple OTs, you know they are going above and beyond. In our businesses, we may get a lucky bounce at times too, but we are not truly rewarded unless we maintain the same focus on our goals and dreams, and the same consistency which creates positive results for us. This also means having the physical health, strength, capacity, and endurance of a top-notch athlete.

This cannot always be accomplished on our own. NHL players have their own unique skills and abilities and achieve their own personal stats. But to make it to the Stanley Cup final, they need to do it as a team. Teamwork means working together in both practices and games to evaluate the competitors, generate strategies and plays, executing them at the appropriate times, and evaluating their progress. All of this takes place under the direction of coaches. Communication and flexibility in both coaches and players to change the game plan when necessary are critical. Only the best lines will hit the ice in critical moments of the game. Business owners can go it alone, but the best results are achieved through this same kind of teamwork - through networking and joint ventures, and talking to your prospects and customers. Those who choose a mentor or business coach whose goals and achievements are higher than one's own and who will keep them motivated will draw success to them; Those who know when something isn't working in their business plans and who have the flexibility to make changes will find success; Those who communicate well with their team will help themselves and those on their team get through difficult times and get ahead of the rest.

Finally, players and fans in the NHL playoffs have an unbridled amount of enthusiasm, and a positive attitude and spirit, without which they would never reach their full potential as individuals and team players, and never get to raise Lord Stanley's Cup above their heads in front of thousands of screaming fans in the finals. They have a dream in mind that carries them to victory. In our businesses, we are also more victorious when we have a support network, full of positive, enthusiastic, and energized team players who know that nothing will stop us from reaching our moments of glory. These moments will come, as we watch our playoff heroes on the ice, follow their examples, and try to do as they do in our businesses to reach our prize at the end!