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Like all Indian boys, I grew up “cricket crazy”.
The 1970’s was an exciting era of intense and hard-fought battles on the cricket field between the West Indies and India. Five test matches. Five days each.
Pitted against the might of cricket’s all-time great fast bowlers – Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and many more…
…was India’s supremely gifted opening batsman, ‘Little Master’ Sunil Gavaskar.
His presence at the crease gave Indian supporters a serene confidence that one end, at least, was safe and secure. The torrid pace attack left the master craftsman unperturbed and calm. No helmet necessary.
There were times he carried his bat through an innings, watching helplessly as wickets tumbled like nine-pins on the opposite end. But he himself held fast, like a rock of Gibraltar.
Those were glorious days of test cricket, marked by an emphasis on style and sportsmanship, technique and temperament. Then, gradually, the game got bastardized into the faster-moving one-day version, and from there into the parody called T-20/20 that it is today.
A more swash-buckling, daring and unconventional form of stroke-play became the order of the day, as batsmen sacrificed technique at the altar of quick runs. And if they got out, well, there was always another match around the corner to make up… and anyway the game was too brief for one early wicket to really matter!
Cricket had changed in a very fundamental way.
How uncannily similar to my own business building and marketing, I said to myself as I woke up this morning.
Many things have been influenced by the shift. Including my thinking. And not just about the game – but about other things, including business!
Once upon a long time ago, I built my information business with a clear focus on strategy, and the long-term future goal. I was content to plod along doing the unattractive, boring, but vitally important tasks that it takes to start and build anything worthwhile. No one noticed, no one cared, but I did it – because those things mattered.
And then, the slow creep of inertia began. Things that were exciting, new and flashy caught my fancy. I went fishing “outside the off stump” at every tantalizing new idea that was thrown my way. Not surprisingly, that behavior came at a price.
I think back to the powerful lessons Sunny Gavaskar taught, as he put his head down, played copy-book shots, and patiently waited for that weak delivery to slam to the boundary.
No, it wasn’t because he didn’t know to play the ‘other way’ (as he so grandly proved towards the end of his career, as he matched the dashing Krish Srikkanth stroke for stroke, and repeatedly slammed Malcolm Marshall, then the fastest bowler in the world, to the fence on his opening delivery!).
No, he did it because he knew that’s what his team needed. And because he had the discipline, temperament and focus to stick with what mattered most.
Ignoring the transient thrill of swinging his bat at everything that went by, and the appreciative roar of a fickle audience who quickly moved on to the next day’s sensation, the ‘Little Master’ did what he had to do.
I need to find that focus again. And take guard to begin a new innings in my business growth. This time, I’m not playing to make the fastest fifty, or hit the most sixers.
I’m in it to score a century. Or a double century. Maybe a triple!
Off and middle, please!
{ 2 comments }
Interesting. Cricket is what most young boys and girls and also the mature citizens in India love. In fact, it’s the religion that unites India. The IPL is also great and we should support it with our heart and soul!
I can appreciate your viewpoint on the more recent developments in the cricketing world. Whilst there is some entertainment in the one-day and the 20-20 it doesn’t compare to the drama, the strategy and skill of the three day series.
As I read your post, I appreciated the point that aspects of the longer game also provide the foundation of everything else. It applies to business and to cricket. In cricket if we forget the ability to stand firm without the need to hit high runs, we lose an important psychological aspect of the game and the need of the crowd for the tension and drama. Just as in business, if we concentrate on the latest fashion of social media, viral techniques or SEO we may forget that client base has a need for our solution to their problem.
The words attributed to Napoleon Hill come to mind:
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
Time for the night-watchman to come into the morning sun I think!
Sincere regards
Jon
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