As the start of another football season kicks-off, and we’re inundated with the breakdown and analysis of X’s and O’s, I’m reminded of the parallels between the strategies of this game, and those used in the game of business.
Now, to be clear, I’m not referring to the tactical, day-to-day stuff you see managed by Terry Tate, Office Linebacker – but the strategic maneuvering you see when a team’s game-plan hasn’t worked, and the game clock is ticking down, and there are only a few final possessions to get in the end-zone and “win the day.”
You see teams make modifications, install “schemes” or “wrinkles” to their offense or defense, and sometimes take a drastically different approach to accommodate for their given strengths and weaknesses.
This often happens in the game of business too. A business plan that looks infallible on paper can ultimately struggle when put into practice. Businesses can quickly fall victim to an underperforming revenue model or unexpected shifts in market conditions– and those that aren’t nimble enough to adjust don’t stay in the game long.
Similar to any good coach, a heady chief executive should always be ready to pivot their game plan and take a different approach with their organization. While halftime interviews are often filled with cliché, you hear football coaches talk about making adjustments based on early results – and a business that’s capable of adjusting should do no differently.
For Yapta, that pivot came in early 2012 when – through an earlier partnership with MasterCard – it was discovered that airfare price tracking had the potential to be a significant source of savings for corporations with large travel programs. While Yapta had been operating a successful consumer business – and continues to today – the opportunity to serve business travelers proved to be exponentially larger. By May 2012, Yapta had developed a solution called FareIQ that addressed the enormous opportunity associated with business travel.
Pivoting can be extremely difficult and expensive, but realigning the business with the best path towards success is critical. Smaller companies with a nimble workforce and a flexible product roadmap may have an easier time redirecting their organization – while larger organizations with a much bigger headcount and legacy systems may have a more difficult time making their pivot.
Moving the minds of your investors may be just as difficult.
The word “pivot” has been known to send shivers up an investor’s spine as it’s often mis-interpreted as “troubled waters”. Getting your board to adopt a change of philosophy is very similar to a head coach trying to get his team to buy into a game plan. If you can’t convince them that it’s the best path to success, then you’re going to have a much more difficult time successfully pivoting your business.
Now, it can also be an emotional decision for an entrepreneur to abandon their original game plan and change course. When launching their company, they were invigorated by their game plan and harbored a deep belief in their approach.
But keep in mind that at the start of every new venture, every team has a winning game plan – and everyone thinks that they can win big. But those who have an alternate game plan are better equipped for the potential challenges that will often rear their head.
So, the next time you’re watching a football game, observe the coach on the sideline, the approach a team is taking, and the course the game is heading – and ask yourself if it was your team, what would you do?
James Filsinger is the President and CEO of Seattle startup Yapta. He is a travel industry executive who previously served as CEO of EZ Yield and Moneydirect, as well as holding senior roles at Sabre.
