Snooker It Easy

The art of snooker is not just about potting the next ball, it's about making the shot and at the same time positioning the cue ball for the shot after that. And the one after that, and so on. It's about making all those subsequent shots as easy as possible.

The cue ball has a mind of it's own

Potting each ball should then be easy, it's curling the cue ball around the table to get to the easy shot that's difficult. That's why snooker looks so easy when you're sitting at home - because the cue ball ends up right in front of the next ball to pot.

What could be simpler?

But try it for yourself - the cue ball has a mind of its own and ends up down the wrong end of the table. Then you realise what a skill snooker players have.

Sometimes they fail to make the simplest of pots. That's not because they can't do it, but because getting the cue ball to a position to make the next pot easy is tough, if you see what I mean.

Turns out that's a great analogy for running a business. As the boss your job isn't to pot each ball, it's to make sure that the next ball (and each subsequent ball) is as easy as possible for your team to pot. That means you've got to be able to think and plan ahead - to make the difficult preparations, so your team can easily step into each new task.

As the boss, if you're going into the office each day spending time questioning what your team are doing, then you're not doing your job properly. Occasional reporting back on their performance and handling exceptions, yes. But standing over their shoulders, no. You should have set it up so you don't have to constantly badger them. Let them get on with it. What you should be doing instead is thinking ahead about the things they'll need to be doing next, and preparing the groundwork in advance so they can slip straight into it when the time comes.

Let's say, for example, you're successfully selling your product through one distribution channel and now want to grow into the next channel. It's your job to investigate the channel, the customer requirements, understand your product fit and make the changes where necessary, what the logistics and customer service requirements are, how much money you'll make, what marketing will be needed.

Once you've done those things and have a well-considered plan, you're ready to get the team engaged in the new challenge. But if you don't do the prep work, what starts out as a mess will end up a bigger one.

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