I play tennis about four times weekly in leagues, clinics and hitting. In clinics, tennis balls are all over, and that means you need a ball hopper to pick up balls and dump back into the coach’s wheeled cart.
The balls are scattered; like stars in a galaxy. There’s no rhyme or reason how to pick up tennis balls efficiently. As I gaze around the courts, I deduce the best strategy to get the most balls in the least amount of time so I can resume drills.
Stay with me here…
1. If a single ball has landed all alone off to the side, I ignore it. I see some players use their racquet to flick all the balls into the general vicinity of other balls grouped in back corners. I’d rather head to the area of highest concentration to pick up the most balls in a grouping. If I flick all the balls toward a corner from other areas of the court, it’s like playing marbles — there’s no guarantee the ball rolls nicely to land next to its cousin. And, why waste my energy flicking balls with my racquet? That’s expended fuel I need for playing time!
2. If some balls are off to the right and some are off to the left at the back of the court, I select a logical division point and pick up one ball and proceed towards the grouping with most balls together. As I play with a variety of ages of women, some don’t have enough arm muscle to carry a heavy ball hopper, or turtle speed is preferred when picking up balls because they just don’t like it.
3. The ball hopper is steel with open gaps in the bottom. When you push the handles of the hopper down on top of a ball, it squeezes into the hopper and pops up into the bottom. Here’s the rub…I’ve tried to pick up three balls at a time with the hopper, but invariably something goes awry. Three just isn’t efficient because I add an extra step to capture the ball that squeezed away. Picking up two at a time is perfect; goes smoothly, and I can get into a rhythm and be done faster.
Tennis Balls and Your Business
When you read the items above, did you begin to see a correlation with tennis balls and your business? Let me help:
1. When you try to rush through an exercise without methodical planning and execution, something will become chaotic or a crisis which sets you down an unplanned path.
Do use thoughtful strategy when planning a campaign or growth goals.
2. Is your team handpicked with high energy? Do they contribute to your business with the same level of knowledge and expertise so you can realize your growth goals?
Do examine your human assets and ensure they’re right for your business longterm.
3. How frequently do you permit yourself or your team to get pulled off track to an interesting tangent that looks juicy until you dive in?
Don’t waste time on programs that take you off goal. Stay the course and only add additional programs/tasks when they directly benefit your opportunity.
4. Think about how you approach a problem; better yet, think about the solution you execute to solve that problem. If the balls are scattered in all directions (like so many balls in the air), think carefully how you will approach each ball to address it independently or as a grouped situation.
If one situation, person or ball is screaming loudly, step back and assess the situation and see how best to manage it in a streamlined fashion.
Business owners, whether startups or 10-year-old companies, need to remember that how you pick up a tennis ball provides a thoughtful look at how to grow a business. Can you see that analogy?
Wow: Balls and business…who’d a thunk? Great post Jayme. And though I’m tempted to make some ballsy references and jokes, I think I’ll leave that to our friend Bill, wherever he may be:) Cheers! Kaarina
@KDillabough That’s funny…my mind works in mysterious ways. I’m sure I can find a blog post in just about anything. Hmm, maybe that’s a video coming soon to a theater near you?
BTW, not only “Where’s Bill Dorman , but where’s your video?”
I know you can help out a few peeps with your incredible coaching style!
Thanks for keeping it clean; rdopping would really appreciate that.!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Bill Dorman rdopping I know, I know…I’m woefully behind. It’s like the old saw: the cobbler’s children shall remain shoeless as I strive to keep up with GP requests, external obligations and, most recently, my hubby’s injury. Yeah, yeah…excuses, excuses…would love to video skype soon. Cheers! Kaarina
@KDillabough Bill Dorman rdopping Ooh, sorry to hear of your husband getting injured…we’re all in the same boat! I know!
Hi Jayme, Great analogy. Early in my tennis career, my mother stepped on an errant tennis ball and sprained her ankle badly. That taught me to always make sure to clear the court of balls as I played. I like your method of clearing the balls, it makes good sense. Go for the biggest concentration of balls first, and don’t try to “hop” too many at once.
Excellent analogy for business.
@wonderoftech Thanks, Carolyn! Quite an escape from the customary, but I have to mix things up. This post has been sitting around slated for another blog, but I decided it was a good one for a Hurricane Monday!
Business & balls… It makes perfect sense to me!
Nice analogies here, Jayme : )
Hey, did you mention a Skype call?
Cheers to you, miss!
@Mark_Harai You around about now? I’m ready for a break … already! Loving the content you’re putting out, too. Thanks for coming over!
Loving the analogy Jayme.
I am hand-picked, by me, so hopefully I’m right for my business going forward! 😉
I’m not so great at stopping myself from being pulled off track but it also has something to do with the circumstances I’m working under. In time that will change and I will then resume normal focus!
@timbo1973 Your situation is not unique, but it’s yours! I am amazed at how well you manage and have time to engage as much as you do! Something’s working!
That was a ballsy move.
The ball is now in my court to come up with a way to round out my comment. I would lob something back over the net but realistically speaking a volley is just not as much fun as a spike. So, I will serve this up:
The other issue that can arise when a tennis court is littered with balls is you can lose focus.
Which way do I go first, which one’s do I pick up first or where do I prioritize my efforts? You get there with item 1 with respect to rushing around without a plan. I find that a huge issue but also the potential of panic setting in when you have a lot of balls in the air or fired at you in succession. Being prepared goes a long way but keeping your cool and taking one step at a time helps to mitigate panic.
I have a “hydra” of a client who gives over 250 projects to my team to manage in a given year so you can imagine how, at times, we are juggling a lot of balls. We are well structured, we help each other out, we know our process and we understand our roles which goes a long, long way when the spikes come over the net in quick succession.
Great departure!
@rdopping Thanks, Ralph. Are you getting any effects from Sandy? It’s snowing here! Not sure how we’re going to Trick or Treat tonight.
Losing focus or doing business in a scatter shot way are key trouble spots for business folks. You’re so right.
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Sigh. Busy couple of days. No real effects from Sandy other than a bit of rain. It was actually sunny today for a few minutes. Talk to you tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
I like the analogy, it certainly made sense.
I’m playing twice a week but we never have more than 3….easy peasy.
Use a ball ‘tube;’ it’s light and you can get about 20+ into it.
@bdorman264 Hey, you! You coming out of hiding? Everyone knows you were gone. Great to see you!
I love your offbeat analogy. Rushing through strategic planning is my pet peeve. You end up dedicating resources based on assumptions. When they turn out to be faulty, you’ve wasted time, money and opportunity, while your competition is walking away with your customers.
@barrettrossie I love the planning aspects of what I do; when there’s a really good team to do it with…all the better!
Letting that outlying ball go to stay focused and centered provides a vivid image that I can see applying daily to both business and personal decisions. I recall from Steve Jobs’ biography that that ability to stay focused and strategic…and not necessarily go chasing every possible ball…was one of his strengths, which he carried to a unique degree!
@drbenlo Love that analogy, too! See how tennis balls really work!! Thanks for coming over!
You’ve got me thinking Lean!
Planning and execution; strategizing and goals, measuring and tracking . . . all of this is music to my ears Jayme. It sounds to me like you have a business background. 🙂 I really enjoyed your analogy!
@keepupweb Hey, There, KeepUp! Thanks for coming over, and would you call running my own business for a very long time a business background? That and PR…we’re kind of like business coaches, but I don’t think anyone has quite caught on to that yet. LOL.
@keepupweb P.S. You just gave me an idea for a blog post I’ve been struggling to find a theme for (a Guest Post on a national ‘zine). Thanks!!
love the sports analogy – especially because it’s tennis! (basketball/baseball are *so* overdone). being strategic is key when there are different ways to attack something. you can either run around flailing your arms with the hope that the balls eventually get picked up. Or you can calmly walk around with a high-level approach/perspective for how to make things happen. thanks for a great post!
@itsjessicann Thanks for taking a moment to say so, too! Appreciate that you stopped in, really. Won my tennis match yesterday in a third set super tie break; my partner told me I should take a lude before I play…but she’d probably think a turtle was high speed! I can’t imagine what she thinks about me, Ms. HyperActive on the court!