You're fired!

Golf is like business in this economy too.

Even Tiger Woods recently got fired by GM as the spokeman for Buick. So the lesson for business owners is....

If your business is in trouble and you have a part-time employee earning $7 million a year, now is a good time to let him go. In fact now is a good time to make a lot of decisions that might not have been very popular in the good ol' days, but are pretty obviously necessary now.

Oh yeah, and this is not a good time to flaunt the corporate jet. Unless you've had a very good year in golf or business, and want to distinguish yourself as still having the cash to spend on frivolous luxury and convenience.

Slow progress

I mentioned the golf course under construction that I'm watching from my office window. Well it continues to take shape in spite of the early winter weather conditions.

Apparently earth moving is still possible, but no grass will be seeded or sodded in this weather, and it's getting worse. This morning, Dec. 8th, they were reporting -20 degrees C and -30 with the windchill. That's 20 below for the Fahrenheit folks. Definitely not golf weather.

Time to plan for the winter break in Myrtle Beach or Scottsdale. Any suggestions or recommendations?

The "off" season

We're in late November and it's clearly the off season for golf. In warmer climates people are still playing, but even there the real golf season is over. Nothing on the PGA nor the LPGA.

What are all those golfers doing? Probably enjoying the time away from the course. Time to spend on other activities; add some balance to your life; and maybe reflect on new approaches to get better for next season.

Is there an off season in business which we can use to the same advantage? Absolutely.

Course management - Harder than it looks

We've all had the experience of watching the pros make it look easy; while knowing that getting the ball to do what you want it to do is not easy.

But who knew that building a golf course could be so hard? From my office window on the 10th floor of a condo building on Iles des Soeurs near downtown Montreal I can see a new 9-hole executive golf course under construction. It sounded easy when they described the project, but apparently it's not.

The plan was to convert about 70 acres of toxic landfill into a golf course by removing debris and re-contouring the land then covering it with topsoil and landscaping it for golf. It took about nine months and thousands of truckloads in and out of the area. Only last year did some seeded grass start to appear on the planned driving range. This summer there were signs of sand traps and greens. But only enough for about three holes. The driving range was finished but not officially opened. Now in late fall, there is more dirt being moved around, but still not sodded and not a tree in sight.

Already delayed, probably over budget and having changed owners, the course is now expected to be ready for golf by September 2009. We'll keep watching.

Tip for trying times

With credit to one of my favourite comic strips, "Real Life Adventures":

Father and son are finishing their round of golf and the young son asks, "So Dad, what did we learn today?"

His reply, "When things are going badly, stop keeping score."

That may be sound advice for your business or your investment portfolio these days. You already know the results are bad and looking at them again and again will not make them better. Check them once.

Then get on with what you have to do for better results.

Apologies

Apologies to all my regular readers, if I have any. (Are you out there?)

I've neglected this Blog and my golf for several weeks. Too many distractions, plus a holiday break and a bad cold have knocked me off my routine. (If you know me, I've never been good at routines.)

But now I'm back and will try to dedicate regular time to my Blogs. Stay tuned.

Success is a great motivator

My Dad used to say, "Nothing succeeds like success". I'm sure you've heard the expression also. My interpretation is that the more you succeed the more you, and others, expect to see you succeed.

It is true in business and golf. A couple of examples.

Out for another round with my 7-year old grandson and this time he did much better. A strong, smooth swing was connecting more frequently and sending the ball long and straight (for a 7-year old). Every golfer's favourite swing result. On top of that he rammed a couple of 4 to 5-foot putts straight into the cup to the surprise of all of us watching and to his delight. He was so encouraged with his game that he insisted on going immediately to the driving range and practice green after our nine hole round. He was motivated.

I had a similar experience earlier this week in a rare round with my son-in-law. He is a very competitive former fullback with a vicious swing and a huge slice that he manages to keep in the fairway. We were both ready to impress each other. I got the better start.

Off the first tee, a short dogleg left downhill to a small well-bunkered green, I hit a perfect (for me) 5-iron that drew around the corner and ran down about 225 yards. Hit a full sandwedge about 100 yards and landed right side of the pin, then sank a curling 18-foot putt for birdie. I'm loving this course! (Son-in-law lost his drive in the trees and went downhill, literally, from there.)

The rest of my round was the usual roller coaster from par to triple bogey but I was not bothered after the great starting hole and the expectation by me and my playing partners that I was going to hit it well. That first hole just kept me confident and relaxed for the day and happy to come back soon.

The lesson learned was one often stated by the pros, "Keep visualizing your successes, not your failures, and that is what you are more likely to repeat."