at the World Business Forum, New York City, on September 13, 2005
Good morning.
Like many of you here today, I'm an avid golfer. For me – and I suspect for some of you – the mere mention of the word "golf" has you thinking about your next tee time. I am not exaggerating too much when I say that golf is a recreation, a relaxation, and maybe even for some, a fantasy.
But, to me, it is also a great metaphor for much of what we all experience every day in business.
Today, I want to focus on a primary aspect of golf, and that is that golf always forces you to face what's ahead. The green in the distance and importantly the hazards you face getting to it must always occupy your thoughts. What you did on the last hole may inform you of your decisions about what to do next. But as any golf psychologist will tell you, continuously re-living what you did on the last hole makes it extremely difficult for you to succeed on the next one. Now, you may be wondering, why is this a great metaphor?
Because one of the biggest problems in the business world today is that too many of us are doing the equivalent of constantly playing the last hole. We have become so tied up in the rules and regulations put in place to deal with past problems that we're not always able to see and respond to the new opportunities as well as the new challenges.
See full Speech.
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