Following the recent trouncing of the Italians by Manchester United, I read this piece by my favourite sports writer, Simon Barnes, chief sports scribe at The Times.
It got me thinking again about the analogy with business-the 'Text Book' examples of Caterpillar and Komatsu, the recent resurgence of Marks and Spencer, the omnipotence of Tesco and Toyota, and so on.
The underlying message is think carefully about what you wish for...
You surely have to agree the World Cup trailers from the BBC are superb? 'Commercials' that set 'aunty' apart from the rest, and support a quality of programming and professionalism that make the license fee worth every penny?
'World Cup stories' relates primarily to the series of BBC 2 documentaries. However, today's column by Jim White in the Daily Telegraph (he's always worth the cover price alone) anticipates the forthcoming TV documentary (on UKTV Gold ironically) about the fate of the shirts worn by the 1966 winning World Cup team, and the associated stories that ensued. I particularly liked the one about Geoff Hurst selling his shirt 6 years ago for £96,000, whilst Alan Ball's dad swapped his sons for a colour television back in the sixties. But it's Jack Charlton who tells the best story of all.
Using the 'pay and display' next to Bath Cricket Club you can't avoid seeing what great shape the ground is in for the start of the season. This photo doesn't do the luxurious and almost luminescent green turf justice.
George is pestering me for cricket gear and accessories, Martyn has aquired a season ticket for the County Ground, Wisden's has been issued and Andrew Flintoff has won their Player of the Year award.
Interest in cricket in England declined over the last twenty years, but the Ashes Victory last summer has made it the new soccer, the new black, the game every schoolboy wants to play and the game every Englishman is proud to be associated with again. Sell out games,leading news coverage and a ground swell of national enthusiasm are all being talked about in anticipation of the new season. Roll on summer!
Gathering the flotsam of newsprint around home and office to consign to the 'green box', I inevitably re-read some of the pieces in the newspapers that made me stop and think over the last two weeks or so.
John Inverdale's column about Andy Murray's victory over Lleyton Hewitt in the ATP tour was one.
He builds on the insight Murray's mother gave in an interview on how Andy evaluated Hewitt's game, and decided on his winning tactics five years ago, aged 13, watching Hewitt on TV rather than doing chemistry homework.
It asks the big question:
Can you actually teach that kind of innate ability to read and understand a game, or does it come somehow, somewhere from within. Can you teach that kind of focus? That kind of desire. That inner belief that one day you will - not might - be on the other side of the court to Hewitt, teeing off with Woods, lining up alongside Lampard, be next out of the gates after Bode Miller. Maybe you can't. Maybe that's what makes Murray exceptional. But maybe you can.
There are lots of parallels drawn between sport and business.But can any successful entrepreneurs say their ambtion was ignited and business strategy determined whilst watching TV rather than doing their homework?
Whatever, I've fended off passionate appeals by my children to subscribe to Sky Sports because I'm convinced they will mutate into a couch potatoes. Maybe I shouldn't be so circumspect.
