The top-seeded players in the world were both stunned this past week at the U.S. Open. Both Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams fought hard throughout their matches but were eventually defeated by their opponents. The questions remain: how were both number one players in the world upset at the tournament and what can we learn from their losses to help increase our win rate when it comes to new business?
Sure they both were battling on the court with injuries but as Novak has stated time and time again, it's not only a physical sport. And Serena agrees. "We play every single week. I have been in Toronto or Montreal or Cincinnati where I play Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I mean, if I'm not used to playing this, then I really should think of something different. I'm not going to sit here and make an excuse, because that's not me."
So what else is it beyond physical strength and stamina? It's attitude. That positive emotional state and stability must remain constant through the ebbs and flows of the match...as through all situations in business and life. New business executives also go into battle with every new business pitch. Similar to the professional tennis players, they know what it's like to feel the euphoria of a win and the heartbreak of a loss. They know the stamina it takes to deal with the long, long...long hours and the physical strength to endure the often insane travel schedule necessary to eke out the competition and reel in the new account. Most important, they know that a positive attitude is vital just as it is on the tennis court.
As the hours ticked by, we watched two top-seeded players let their opening leads in the match slip away and allow their morale to diminish quickly. Their body language changed. Their injuries became more dominant. Their mental state was negative. They stopped trusting their shots. They played on the defense instead of the offense. They lost their way and ended up losing their titles.
Whether you're on the court or in the conference room, there are three key lessons to apply if you want to increase your success rate.
Maintain emotional stability. As difficult as it is, you cannot react when under stress. Instead respond rationally and try handling things with integrity and poise. Most importantly, don't tie past negativity with present emotions. Learn from the failure and move forward.
Morale is only controlled by you. Your psychological state can only be diminished by one person and that's you. No one else can control your mind or your thoughts. And it is a proven fact that your thoughts have a profound impact on your life. Descartes, father of modern philosophy, pointed to both the distinguishing characteristic of human beings and to the biggest curse of human beings when he made his famous statement, "I think. Therefore, I am." Observe your thoughts. Control them and don't let them control you.
Believe and trust in yourself. Easy to do when everything is going well. It's certainly more difficult to implement when things are unraveling. But it's when we believe in ourselves that we take those intelligent risks. We go out on a limb and we give it all we've got. In fact, we don't even think (or overthink the problem). We just let go and trust ourselves. That's when we shock our opponents and typically rise above the competition.
There's no doubt that knowledge, experience and hard work are determining factors in any win. But it's these three lessons that are the foundation of the one key trait that always affects the outcome of any battle: attitude!
Lisa Colantuono is the Co-President of AAR Partners, an agency search consultancy since 1980, helping marketers to find the best communications agencies for their marketing needs. Her book, @AARLisa: New Biz in 140 Characters (or Less), offers more than 1,200 quick business lessons in the form of Tweets.