Bin 'Daft' 'Joke' Countdown Visuals

St George’s Park. Gleaming new tech-colossus/Bond-villain-liar style (delete as appropriate) HQ of English football.

Greg Dyke. A man “successful” in telly administration? He proved fish out of water running infamous meddlers, sporting body The Football Association.

He thought it a good idea to place a particular clock on display in the coach’s room.

Incredibly, it was counting down to his imposed target, ‘set’ in 2013. Of when England would finally again win the World Cup in 2022.

We know this because a first act of his successor was to get rid of it. Phew. Sense at last.

Our latest arranger of paperclips was promisingly quoted;

“That clock’s daft. If you’ve seen that nuclear clock back in the Cold War, it’s been one minute to midnight for the last 55 years! These things are a joke. I like a few jokes, I like a good laugh, so I’ll go up to St George’s Park and have a good laugh at the clock.”

I often blog on the crucial order of process over outcome. Dyke clearly did not understand this vital view.

And nor sadly do many salesrooms. For I have seen the self same style ‘clocks’ on their walls. Counting down time to the end of the world sales period.

This new broom seeks to improve England’s dismal recent record in tournaments. He realises that to highlight an arbitrary deadline is futile. It’s the same in Sales. The key is, what replaces such counterproductive visual?

Think Process…

update: 21 Sep 2016: Oh dear. “Allardyce intervenes to save Qatar countdown clock”. The headline sent shivers throughout any lingering hope I held. Despite that stated goal of 2022 Champions remaining rightly now dropped, just when you thought England might turn it around, the new manager apparently argues “that the countdown may help to focus the minds of players during their limited time together”. He is so wrong.

update: 27 Sep 2016: Oh dear. Again. The Manager is gone. After just 67 days. The curse of the countdown clock?