Management Lesson from Sehwag !

No sooner had Veeru from Najafgarh become the highest scoring Indian cricketer than we have management lessons from his approach (phew!)

OK so here is what the Economic Times thinks Sehwag can teach the corporate world !

Play by your rules, not the Opposition’s.

How can business benefit from this approach? Simple: ignore the competition, just focus on the customer. The issue, as with Sehwag, is not to react or respond to what the opposition is doing, but simply to set your own target irrespective of their efforts – and then pursue that target single-mindedly.

It’s all about core competence

Whether he succeeds or fails, Sehwag never abandons his approach. Not for him is the motto of flexibility or adjusting to the situation. Hell, he doesn’t even appear to know the situation. What’s crucial, too, about Sehwag’s choice of core competence is its affinity with his natural ability. He knows he can hit the ball hard and clean – and anywhere. So, that’s the ability that he has made his mainstay, instead of chasing competences like solidity a la Rahul Dravid or style along the lines of Sourav Ganguly.

History is not a mistake.

Veeru believes there is no such thing as history – there is only an endless attempt to fulfill one’s tryst with one’s target by treading the same path over and over and over again.
So can it be with companies wooing the customer. If you know something should work with the customer, don’t be afraid if the first attempt fails. Try the same thing again and again and again: as long as your homework wasn’t way off the mark, you will hit paydirt sooner rather than later.

Skills matters more than technique.

The lesson in for corporate competitors? Forget the homework. What matters is what you’re actually doing out there in the marketplace, in the thick of things. And what matters there is how well you can do what you’re best at. The idea is to simply focus on that one activity your DNA is programmed to do, and improve on its execution continuously. Add to that the act of goal-setting – just one target, please, not multiple objectives – and you’re there.