Tài liệu LEADERSHIP LESSONS from The Game of Golf pdf

Leadership Lessons from Life Series
L
EADERSHIP
L
ESSONS
from
The Game
of Golf
An 18-Hole Course in Leadership
Peter R. Garber
HRD Press, Inc. • Amherst • Massachusetts
Project1 4/10/06 1:57 PM Page 1
Copyright © 2006, Peter Garber
All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this material in any media without
written permission of the publisher is a violation of existing copyright laws.
Published by:
HRD Press
22 Amherst Road
Amherst, MA 01002
1-800-822-2801
(U.S. and Canada)
1-413-253-3488
1-413-253-3490 (F
ax)
www.hrdpress.com
ISBN 0-87425-877-4
Cover design by Eileen Klockars
Productions services by PerfectType
Editorial services by Suzanne Bay
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iii

About the Leadership Lessons from
Life Series
The most important and significant things we learn about life
are usually basic and fundamental lessons taught to us early
on—lessons that we might have forgotten about, overlooked,
or simply taken for granted. Even the most complicated
leadership theory has as its source something we were taught
when we were young. The Leadership Lessons from Life series
is designed to remind us of this wisdom and help us apply it to
our efforts to become better, more-effective leaders.
Each book in the series is devoted to exploring what we
learn from significant people or events in our lives as it relates
to our professional endeavors. Even the most challenging
leadership and management situations can be changed for the
better as a result of insights coming from unexpected sources.
As you read each book, you will have a new appreciation for
this simple wisdom and find new ways to apply the funda-
mental principles to your professional life and responsibilities.
Good luck in your never-ending learning journey. May
this
Leadership Lessons from Life series make the experience
valuable and enjoyable.
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Introduction
Can you learn to be a good leader by playing golf? Believe it or
not, you can! There are fundamentals and rules in both
endeavors that must be followed if you expect to ever keep up
with the competition, let alone beat it. There are also right and
wrong ways to perform a particular activity that can make the

difference between winning and losing. Leaders and golfers
must have perseverance and patience if they are to achieve
success. Some golfers and managers never learn the importance
of those virtues, however.
In golf and in business, you have good days and you have
bad days. There are times when the ball just won’t drop in the
cup, no matter what you do! And there are some customers
who will never be satisfied, no matter how long you work at it.
What makes the difference between playing the best
round of golf you have ever had in your life and playing the
worst? Similarly, what makes the difference in business
between satisfying the requirements of the customer and losing
their business?
Leadership Lessons from the Game of Golf
explores these differences and what you can do about them.
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Leadership Lessons
from the Game of Golf
The Course
This unique golf course consists of eighteen holes, each one
devoted to a principle of management. Like any other 18-hole
course, there are a number of obstacles and hazards designed
to trip you up or throw you off your game. Play the course
by circling “Yes” or “No” after each question or statement.
Don’t be too easy on yourself as you answer each question.
Be as honest as you can. Then use the scoring key on the page
that follows each hole to determine the number of strokes
you took to play the hole. A final scorecard is included after

the 18th hole so that you can evaluate your overall per-
formance and compare it to “par” for the course. Good luck
and
hit ’em straight!
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b
Hole #1
Master the Basics of the Game
Par 4 • 305 Yards
Every golfer knows how stressful it is to play your first real
round—not to mention intimidating. Trying to remember all
the things the instructor told you to do and still make contact
with the ball while your friends are watching doesn’t seem like
so much fun. Once you learn the fundamentals of the game,
however, it all comes down to practice, practice, and more
practice. You can be sure that today’s tournament champions
spent hours alone at the beginning of their careers trying to
remember to keep their head down and to follow through with
their swing.
There are known best practices, techniques, and pro-
cedures in every game or field of endeavor. Analyze the
performance of great leaders and you will undoubtedly learn
that they attribute their initial success to mastering the
fundamentals. Failure to learn the basics before we immerse
ourselves in the game is usually the reason why we have
returned products, unhappy customers, missed putts, lost
balls, red ink, and yes, embarrassingly high golf scores.
The basics of every game are always easier to learn in the

beginning, before we make mistakes and go looking in the
wrong places for the r
oot cause of the mistake. And let’s face it:
Bad habits are extremely difficult to break. Besides, they just
get in the way of the game.
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Scorecard
MASTER THE BASICS OF THE GAME
Hole #1 • Par 4
Player:
Directions: Circle “Yes” or “No” for each question.
And don’t be too easy on yourself. Be as truthful as you can.
Are you presently striving to master the basics of
the “game” at work?
YES NO
Do you often rely on “gimmicks” to improve
your performance, rather than master the basics?
YES NO
Do your solutions to problems ever fail to
address the real root cause of the problem?
YES NO
Do you commit the resources necessary to
learn to do the job correctly the first time?
YES NO
Scoring key on back
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MASTER THE BASICS OF THE GAME

Hole #1 • Par 4
Player:
Directions: Record your “score” for each question in the space
provided.
Are you presently striving to master the basics of
the “game” at work?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
Do you tend to rely on “gimmicks” to improve
your performance, rather than master the basics?
YES = 2 strokes NO = 1 stroke _______
SCORE
Do your solutions to problems ever fail to
address the real root cause of the problem?
YES = 2 strokes NO = 1 stroke _______
SCORE
Do you commit the resources necessary to
learn to do the job correctly the first time?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
S C O R E
TOTAL NUMBER OF STROKES _______
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b
Hole #2
Continue the Learning Process
Par 3 • 156 Yards
Learning is a never-ending process. A champion golfer will not
stay on top very long if he/she stops learning how to improve
their level of performance. A business must also constantly
strive to improve the quality of its goods or services. Reaching

your goals must be thought of as a continuous journey that
never ends. The moment a business, an organization, or an
individual believes that nothing more can be done to improve
performance is the day they open the door and let the
competition come in to defeat them.
Continuing the learning process is not as easy as it sounds.
When you are first learning how to play golf, it’s always easier
to learn the proper technique when the club pro is standing
there ready to correct your mistakes than it is when you are out
on the course competing with other players. Being able to
drive a ball 300 yards on the practice tee will ultimately not
help you if you forget everything you learned when you go out
and play the game for real. Similarly, teaching everyone in your
organization the latest management techniques will not show
up on the bottom line unless every individual takes what was
learned back to the factory floor or the customer service
department and puts it into practice. M
ake it a habit to master
the right way of doing things, and then do things the right way
each time you take the metaphorical swing.
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Scorecard
CONTINUE THE LEARNING PROCESS
Hole #2 • Par 3
Player:
Directions: Circle “Yes” or “No” for each question.
And don’t be too easy on yourself. Be as truthful as you can.
Do you believe there is nothing more you can

learn about your job?
YES NO
Do you continue to learn new things about your
job and your field?
YES NO
Do you apply each and every lesson you have
learned to improve your performance?
YES NO
Scoring key on back
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CONTINUE THE LEARNING PROCESS
Hole #2 • Par 3
Player:
Directions: Record your “score” for each question in the space
provided.
Do you believe there is nothing more you can
learn about your job?*
YES = 2 strokes NO = 1 stroke _______
SCORE
Do you continue to learn new things about your
job and your field?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
Do you apply each and every lesson you have
learned to improve your performance?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
*If you answered “NO” to the first question, take
one (1) additional stroke off your score for this hole.

TOTAL NUMBER OF STROKES _______
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b
Hole #3
Keep Accurate Score
Par 4 • 401 Yards
It is an unfortunate but true fact that many golfers fail to
keep accurate track of their performance. Some can be very
“creative” when it comes to how many strokes they record for
a specific hole. It is just as important in business as it is in golf
to be honest with yourself about how you’re doing. Keeping
score allows you to measure your performance from one day to
the next, week to week, year to year. If you do not take an
accurate reading, you might be misleading yourself about your
level of performance and fail to pick up on critical problems
that can ultimately cause you to lose customers. Measuring
and trying to improve their game is what keeps golfers coming
back for more.
What would it be like if we took this performance meas-
urement tool away from a golfer? Let’s say that immediately
after each shot, you blindfold the golfer and lead him or her to
their next shot. They have no idea how well or how poorly they
hit the ball, and no way of getting feedback about their
performance. How much enjoyment do you think the golfer
would be deriving from the game under these circumstances?
Feedback on performance has to be immediate if it is to
be useful. Finding out a y
ear later how well y
ou played the

seventeenth hole one afternoon last summer didn’t help you
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play the eighteenth hole better. The score has to be accurate,
and it has to be immediately accessible if you want to use it to
improve your game.
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Scorecard
KEEP ACCURATE SCORE
Hole #3 • Par 4
Player:
Directions: Circle “Yes” or “No” for each question.
And don’t be too easy on yourself. Be as truthful as you can.
When it comes to measuring your performance
at work, do you keep accurate score?
YES NO
Do you give others immediate feedback on
their performance?
YES NO
Do you use measurement tools to improve
your own performance?
YES NO
Do you use measurement tools to help others
improve their performance?
YES NO
Scoring key on back
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KEEP ACCURATE SCORE

Hole #3 • Par 4
Player:
Directions: Record your “score” for each question in the space
provided.
When it comes to measuring your performance
at work, do you keep accurate score?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
Do you give others immediate feedback on
their performance?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
Do you use measurement tools to improve
your own performance?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
Do you use measurement tools to help others
improve their performance?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
S C O R E
TOTAL NUMBER OF STROKES _______
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b
Hole #4
Keep the Game Fun
Par 3 • 152 Yards
Why do golfers have so much fun lugging a bag of heavy clubs
around for miles and miles on the weekend, just so they can
hit an unpredictable little ball and then chase it into tall brush,

sand, or water? They enjoy the challenge of trying to improve
their performance—that’s why they play. Sharing the golfing
experience with others while trying to improve their own game
is what the game is all about.
Why can’t some of the same factors that make golf so
much fun be introduced in the workplace? A day at work will
never compare to an afternoon at Pebble Beach, but some of
the same principles can be applied. People set their own goals
in golf and motivate themselves to achieve them. Wouldn’t
work be a lot more fun if we could do the same thing? Most
golfers have a continuous-improvement plan—a goal or a
score they would like to beat, or a fault they would like to
correct. It is this drive for continuous improvement that keeps
even the most frustrated golfer counting the days to the
weekend to play another round.
In the world of work, each person needs to have this same
desire to continuously improve. In business as in golf, when
the desire is gone, so is the driv
e or motivation to do your best.
You might not quit the game (at least not yet), but it’s not
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likely that you’ll be a full participant. The intrinsic rewards
in golf and in work keep people motivated and having fun.
Without motivation, you have no fun.
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Scorecard
KEEP THE GAME FUN
Hole #4 • Par 3

Player:
Directions: Circle “Yes” or “No” for each question.
And don’t be too easy on yourself. Be as truthful as you can.
Do you set challenging goals for yourself and
others at work?
YES NO
Do you share your successes with your
co-workers to help them reach their goals?
YES NO
Do you have your own plan to motivate employees
to continuously improve their performance?
YES NO
Scoring key on back
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KEEP THE GAME FUN
Hole #4 • Par 3
Player:
Directions: Record your “score” for each question in the space
provided.
Do you set challenging goals for yourself and
others at work?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
Do you share your successes with your
co-workers to help them reach their goals?
YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
Do you have your own plan to motivate employees
to continuously improve their performance?

YES = 1 stroke NO = 2 strokes _______
SCORE
TOTAL NUMBER OF STROKES _______
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SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE
If you are going to play golf, you must first learn to speak
the language. Unfortunately, the language of Golf has
few if any similarities to English. For instance, in golf an
eagle is not the symbol of our nation’s independence. A
birdie is not what small children call their pet canary, and
a
dogleg is not what holds your puppy up. A handicap is
not a physical limitation, but rather a sort of bonus you
get for being a lousy golfer. A
bogie is not that famous
movie actor who started in “Casablanca,” but rather
finishing a hole one over par. A
mulligan is not your old
drinking buddy, but a second chance to mess up your
drive.
Par does not mean an average amount, but rather
the number of strokes assigned to each hole that you
supposedly should be able to equal or better if you are
worth a damn as a golfer.
To make matters even more confusing, a pin is at
least six feet tall, a hole is only about four inches deep,
and
don’t drink from the cup! A wood is sometimes made
of metal, and an iron will do nothing for the wrinkles in

your shirt. And
tee-time is not when the British take their
afternoon break to enjoy their favorite herbal beverage!
It’s when you are supposed to show up at the course if
you expect to be on time for your golf date this
afternoon.
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