The Big Goal
If you’ve spent any time studying the great John Wooden (“Wooden on Leadership” is an awesome read, by the way), you’ll note that the former UCLA basketball coach spent very little time talking about the subject of winning. Despite lining up the most impressive winning record in the history of sports, the man seemed to have eschewed discussing the subject of which he was clearly the master.
Wooden knew that you cannot always control the outcome, only that you can control your actions that lead to the outcome. His entire philosophy can be summed up into one simple yet profound phrase: Play Perfect!
This is all he ever wanted, from himself and from his team. Just play perfect, and everything else will fall into place. From that simple philosophy pours an excess of application. In the world of the new home sales, if I “play perfect” it means I….
- Show up with a high, positive energy every single day;
- Greet every prospect as the most important person on the planet;
- Carefully craft my sales presentation to maximize every opportunity;
- Take every sales conversation as far as it will possibly go;
- Take exceedingly good care of my backlog;
- Dedicate my best efforts to being an incredible teammate;
- Seek to improve my skills and performance every single day;
- Strive for excellence in all areas of my life.
Look over that list. Would you agree with me that the person who “plays perfect” in all those areas will find an abundance of success? Take a look once more. Are all the things listed above in my realm of control? They are – and that’s good news! I cannot always control the scoreboard, but I can always control my own efforts. I can always choose to play perfect! You can’t always land a sale, but you can always do the things you need to do in order to land a sale.
