A little means a lot

"The difference between first and second is getting bigger, the difference between first and last is horrendous". He was speaking of CEO salaries versus second-in-command and the lowest on the scale, but it's also true for the PGA tour.

Consider the recent US Open.

Winner Lucas Glover walked away with $1,350,000. Falling just two strokes behind after five long days was Ricky Barnes at $559, 830, tied with Phil Mickelson and David Duval. Tiger was fourth at $233,350 and first round leader Mike Weir was down to $154,600. In last place was Fred Funk at $19, 921. Still better than most of us for a week's work, but far from the $1.3 million first prize.

The difference might be just one too many drives into the long rough, or a missed short putt or the approach shot that rolled off the green into the water. And it cannot be explained by a little bad luck. The number one performers are consistently just a little better every day and keep on winning.

Think about it. Focus and be better.

Tools and technique

In business and in golf , buying better tools doesn't immediately improve your results. (In spite of the advertising promises.) It's never that simple. Sometimes a new driver or a new ERP system just gets you into trouble faster and deeper.

It is important to have good tools. And newer technology can lead to better results. But every tool needs to be combined with good technique if you really want to achieve new levels of success. In golf that means ensuring you have good fundamentals and then build consistency through practice.

In business, that means managing the change process well, supporting it with training and assigning the right staff to get performance improvements.

Now go ahead and make the investment.