Football and Business: Coming From Behind, and Never Giving Up!

Week 4 of the16-week NFL season looms large.  But we, who champion the underdog, had a fine time with Week 3.  Two teams, who have historically been “losers”, have started the season 3-0.

It’s extra sweet that they represent cities that are among the most economically depressed in the nation:  Detroit and Buffalo.  Remember how Drew Brees and the Saints gave the Katrina-ravaged citizens of New Orleans so much joy when they won the Super Bowl?  Well, I’m thinking the folks in Detroit and Buffalo must be feeling the joy.  Neither team has started 3-0 in over 20 years!  As a long-time Cubbies fan, I can relate:  as a kid, I would go to Wrigley Field “hoping” for a win, but actually feeling “happy” when we didn’t lose too badly.

But the BEST part of the games these two teams won last Sunday was the fact they both came from way behind!  Detroit was down 20-0 at the halftime, and Buffalo was down 21-0 at one point.

Why do some teams—and I mean business teams—come back, and some don’t?  I believe it’s TENACITY.

The dictionary defines “tenacity” as doggedness, persistent determination.  I wrote about it in my book, Necessary Roughness, as “holding the score in the context of winning, and never giving up.”  This is what we need now.  The economy is not coming back as fast as we would like, but we need to hold the present state of the economy (and our checkbook) in the context of “this, too, shall pass” (one of my mom’s favorite sayings).

This, too, shall turn around, and we need to keep fighting.  This is what the good teams do.  Watch NFL football next Sunday, and you will see dramatic plays, big comebacks, and lots of TENACITY.  The good teams with this attitude will find ways to win.  With this attitude, we, too, will find ways to WIN.