3 Things Companies Can Learn from March Madness

If your company is anything like ours, basketball is all you talked about for the past month. With brackets, favorite teams and trying to keep up with game schedules, it felt like March Madness had taken over our office!

Consequently, and based on my 30+ years of experience consulting and implementing financial and accounting software for growing businesses, I couldn’t help but wonder: What are some of the lessons our companies should have learned from the NCAA basketball tournament?

Here are 3 takeaways:

1. Past performance is relevant, but not determinant

If you participated in any sort of bracket, you were probably surprised (pleasantly or not) to see completely unexpected outcomes that ended up throwing your numbers off. This situation is not unfamiliar when it comes to business.

Even though past performance is extremely important, businesses can’t let this be the only indicator of how the next period will be. Just like a negative performance doesn’t mean that we can’t be risk takers and turn things around, positive performance doesn’t mean that there’s no more room to grow.

2. Getting to know your competition is key

Understanding your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses will help you create better strategies to have a winning season. Whether it’s on the court or in business, it’s essential to know who your competitor is and what they have to offer. This will not only help reveal your competitive advantage, but it will also set the guidelines for your company to work harder and become consistent winners.

3. Driving value and inspiring your team will lead to success

In my last article I explained the importance of interdepartmental communication as organizations transition to the new ASC 606 Revenue Recognition Standards. However, this also stands true for daily projects and overall operational duties. Similar to basketball coaches, managers must know who their MVPs are, know how to leverage their employees’ skills and, most importantly, encourage them to be the best professionals and team members they can be.

Being a difference-maker in your business means setting your organization up for greater success. Bigger and better wins.

Contact us to find out how we can help you champion forecasting and internal communication while differentiating yourself from your competition.