‘Focus on the shot, not the game!’
Over 350 area business leaders gathered this morning at the Phoenix Suns’ newly renovated arena to connect in person and to hear a keynote address by golf pro Hank Haney, best known for coaching Tiger Woods.
For many of the attendees, this Accelerent Breakfast Event was their first large in-person return-to-normal event. The Suns arena was a fantastic venue for Accelerent’s first in-person Breakfast Event of the year!! Accelerent is the area’s leading business development organization.
In his presentation, Hank Haney explained, “I’m not a golf coach; I’m a coach.” That is why his messages resonate with business leaders as they coach their teams and employees.
Hank became a coach because he wanted to help people, and he has done that by providing encouragement, which builds confidence in the person being coached.
Skill and knowledge are important, but Hank said the most important things are patience and communication. You need to figure out what motivates someone. Most people get motivated with a pat on the back. Some people need a kick in the butt. When you need to deliver that latter message, it’s easier to do when you’ve patted them on the back a lot.
Equally important is planning, for both the coach and the coached. A desire to do something big is only a dream until you have a plan.
And that plan comes together in “baby steps,“ which is why Hank says: “Focus on the shot, not the game!” If you go one step, one shot at a time, you can reach your goals.
Scott Wood: The importance of connecting; hybrid work is here to stay
In his introductory remarks at the event, Scott Wood, Managing Partner and Principal of Benefit Commerce Group, said, “Culture, collaboration and relationships have always been critical for business success.”
The pandemic caused most businesses to operate a little differently, but it also caused us all to learn more about our businesses. Part of what we learned is that connecting is important, whether it is in person or through video meetings. That is why Accelerent has been so important and why Benefit Commerce Group has agreed to renew for another 3-year term as Title Sponsor of the organization.
Scott also said that as we go back to an environment of hybrid work, this will be a permanent way of operating. To make this work, he said we need to co-create the future with our employee teams. “We don’t know, but let’s figure it out together,” is Scott’s message to his team, and that is why BCG hired an outside consultant to survey all its employees, interview a subset and dissect the results together to create a vision for the future.
