The Masters, Tiger Woods and How to Succeed in Business

• Trends
• April 13, 2016
• by Annie Carr

The storied history of the Masters, latest crushing defeat for Jordan Spieth and surprising win by Danny Willett conjures memories of another famous golfer: Tiger Woods.

Woods has lived most of his life in the public eye,  becoming a golf pro at age 20 and winning his first Masters the next year, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s history (he would go on to win three more). His success and career soared for the next 20 years before the hydrant burst. Accusations of infidelity came to light, he was off his stroke with golf and plagued with physical injuries.

Tiger Woods demonstrates how fame and attention can get in the way of success. We know golf is a popular pastime for the business elite, but we can learn a few business lessons from the golfer himself:

1) Recognize that there is always room for improvement no matter the level of success you have had in the past, from how to hold the club, to how to address different people. Tiger probably had to learn that different courses result in different methods of hitting the balls to reach the holes. Means of communication are constantly changing and it is important to keep up with the new modes on a regular basis. Realizing that not everyone responds to the same methods of communication affect how you try to reach out to diverse audiences.

2) Set visible expectations for yourself. In the corporate setting, visible goals lead to increased determination to prove your ability and worth to colleagues. Tiger set his sights on the Masters on multiple occasions, some he won and some in which he failed to qualify.  In order to reach the Masters, he had to succeed in the tournaments leading up to it and each one he did well in, he could check off the list.  Another example is to have a white board in your office or on your desk with everything laid out as a visible reminder of how far along you are to achieving your goal.  Each time you complete a task in the process, mark it off and celebrate that you are one step closer!

3) Know your abilities. Living in the limelight shows the good and the bad from every angle imaginable.  Working through difficult times demonstrates your willingness to overcome obstacles and pitfalls. When something goes wrong, use your strengths to your advantage.  When a proposal is rejected by a client, don’t dwell on the disappointment, instead, figure out where it went wrong to prevent that from happening the next time.

We often look at celebrities and see mistakes as the end of the world for them as they know it. Save yourself from those errors and learn from the mistakes.  For example, if you hit the ball in the pond, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going from there. (We’re looking at you, Jordan).