Is Your Deal Glue Tempo Or Rhythm?

Rory McIlroy. He wins from the front. He wins coming from behind. He wins.

What a terrific final golf major of the year he just won.

Six-time major winner Nick Faldo is famous for saying “Tempo is the glue that holds a good swing together”. When Rory was being hunted down by the chasing pack at Hoylake’s final day at The Open a few weeks back – and about to do what Faldo couldn’t, namely win three of the four majors – he swapped in round for swing.

I wasn’t so sure about Faldo’s mantra on first hearing. After all, like in many a sport, to be the victor you only need to be ahead when you touch the tape.

Yes, momentum counts for a great deal, but did he really appreciate the words he used?

For me tempo is about the pace of movement. Not to be confused with rhythm, which is more the pattern of that movement.

So how the speed of a round can hold it together doesn’t quite ring right.

And as Rory himself proved after dropping three shots in two holes on his first day at the USPGA, it was his rhythm of thought that glued his performance together. He later divulged that he put those bogeys out of his mind and remembered that the run-in was there for his multiple-birdie taking.

I’ve blogged before about how I feel the tempo of a deal – whether conducted over a few days or several quarters – is vital. Your pace must both align with the prospect decision making and encourage them to keep motoring your way.

Yet its rhythm is also key. It must strive for consonance. No dissonant chords please. That is, a kind of harmony. Are you in tune with how your prospect makes decisions?

Is the problem you’re trying to solve and the way you propose to do so hitting the right note?

Do you know the optimum shape of an ideal deal? Its length, its phases, its ups and downs, its ins and outs?

Rory can win from behind, yes, but he’s recently nailed big-time how to win from the front. Can you do either? And recognise which is which? Do you fully understand your winning tempo and rhythm?