Capt Strauss Focus

Has there been a more one-sided Ashes day’s play in living memory? Not one single observer seems to think so. England’s dominance over woeful Australia was as superior as it was surprising. With the Perth hammering metered out by the hosts, you’d have though momentum was all theirs. Yet after Adelaide it was the other way around. Cricket truly is a wonderful game.

Trying to explain the swing, commentators recalled events of 2009. With England on top, they folded at Headingly. Yet despite a huge victory, Australia were then routed at the Oval. Although the slowness of the groundstaff to cover the pitch during drizzle handed Stuart Broad the perfect conditions in which to skittle them out.

Here’s a widely reported quote about what happened from English captain, Andrew Strauss.

“I think we all kind of got caught up in that [the hype], and we didn’t focus on what we’d done well to that point, which was to keep it very simple, play a session at a time. We started thinking about the overall goal.”

This is so similar to what can happen during a long sales campaign it’s startling.

Many a rep (and their management) gets so wound up with the worth of the final signature that they forget to put into perspective individual elements leading up to it.

They consequently lose vital focus and ultimately the deal itself.

Avoid this and you, like England’s cricketers, can prevail against the odds.