More than a game

Jim Huston

I have a number of clients in New England. Many of whom happen to be rabid (not just avid) New England Patriots fans. For the uninitiated, the Patriots are the National Football League’s Boston franchise and one of the NFL’s best performing teams the last 10 years.

This year’s Super Bowl saw the Patriots pitted against their nemesis of late, the New York Giants. The Giants ruined the Patriots perfect season in the 2008 Super Bowl. It wasn’t just another title that was on the line for the Patriots and their fans. It was a “reckoning” of sorts that they sought. Emotions ran deep on both sides of the gridiron, but I’d argue that they ran a bit deeper on the Beantown side.

Prior to the game, I shared some of my sage advice with fans on both sides regarding NFL football, big games and the emotional consequences of winning and losing the “big one.”

Being a Dallas Cowboys fan, I’ve learned my lessons the hard way. Having contracted Cowboys “fever” years ago, it has resurfaced of late. It has resurfaced because now when I watch them play, I get sick.

Not unlike business, you want to protect what you’ve gained and think in terms of the long haul. My advice is to bet against the team in which you have the most emotional stock.

If you want the Giants to win, bet on the Patriots.

It you ardently desire to see the Patriots get revenge and hold up the Lombardi trophy, then bet on the Giants. Ask yourself, in the event that your team loses, how many weeks will it take to recover from the loss? Bet $10, $20, $100 for every week of recovery required.

If your team wins, you’ll be so happy that you won’t mind that you lost the money. It was just money. But if your team loses, if you bet the correct amount, your winnings will assuage your hurt feelings and disappointment. It’s like hedging your bet.

Smart Money. When it comes to building your business for long-term success, a couple New England clients come to mind.

Mark Pendergast, president of Salmon Falls Landscaping in Maine, and his team have seen sales steadily recover and added to the bottom line the last three years. While construction, both residential and commercial, is the backbone of the company, they’ve grown new maintenance division revenue to almost seven figures. Not an easy feat under the current economic conditions.

Chris Maroun, president of Miracle Farms Landscaping, left a large (and primarily construction) landscape partnership in southern Connecticut to start from scratch a new company in the lake region of New Hampshire.

Just more than 10 years later, Chris and his team have built a very successful and profitable company that caters to the ultra-high end residential market.

They’ve built the business on a solid foundation of maintenance and enhancement work. Sizeable construction projects are not uncommon for MFL, but it isn’t dependent upon them. Both Mark and Chris understand the importance of building their businesses for the long haul. They also understand the importance of diversifying – hedging their bets. You cannot become one-dimensional. It’s the same in business.

Unlike football, in business, the score really matters. Real people get hurt, lose their jobs and lose their businesses when they have too many losing seasons. Not that real people do not get hurt in professional sports. However, the NFL is designed to be a “zero-sum” game – someone has to win and someone has to lose.

It had to be either the Giants or the Patriots hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The fans, the NFL and the game would not tolerate Tom Brady and Eli Manning playing to a tie game. Unlike football, landscaping does not have to be a zero-sum game where half must lose and only half can win. Everyone can win if they play the game properly.

In the past, I’ve had too many Monday mornings ruined by a Cowboy’s loss the day before. I’ve come to realize, “How stupid is that?” Why tie your emotions to a zero-sum game – to a coin toss of sorts.

If it doesn’t affect your paycheck, shake it off or rub some dirt on it. You’ll get another chance next year. If it does affect your paycheck (your business), play smart. You don’t have to lose. Diversify and avoid being one dimensional.

Real people do get hurt when a business or an economy fails. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you don’t protect your business, you’ll lose the emotional game as well.

However, if you protect your business, you’ll get your emotions thrown in to boot. People who are making money are usually fairly happy – even if they bet against their favorite team.