How March Madness Applies To Business

I love this time of year for a lot of reasons. First off, pre- and early spring is fall in reverse. Instead of everything dying and the weather turning cold, everything blossoms and warm weather is intermittent throughout. But I digress. March Madness is arguably the best time of the year for many a sports fan. The first four days of the tourney and their non-stop action equal some serious couch time or time spent in your local watering hole with buddies. For some this goes hand in hand with alcohol consumption, which can be relaxing (in moderation, of course).

Throughout the coverage, you'll hear how hard it is to win games consecutively. "Survive and advance" is the expression. This is a great metaphor to me for business. Every year you see teams that are #1 seeds fall. Part of the fun of the tourney is seeing the upsets (unless you're financially invested in this). Teams that played well enough during the year, say with a record of 25-5 "unexpectedly" lose to a team that is a double-digit seed, with close to double-digit losses in a "lesser" conference. Sorry for the all of the quotations. The way I see it, the teams that fall short of their ultimate goal fail to adapt as well or as quickly as the victor. Here is where the metaphor rings true for me. Some teams seem unfazed by the first shot across the bow, say a 10-0 run by their opponent, and stick to their game plan. They seem to think it's a lucky, hot hand by the opponent or referee calls not going in their favor. 

The teams that come back from deficits, win a nail-biter, or steamroll the other team are those that adapt to how the game is being played. Foul trouble by one (or more) players? Your star on the floor or bench strength needs to step up. Calls by the referee not going your way? Stay out of traffic, taking high-percentage shots as uncontested as you can get them. Oppositions tempo not matching your style of play? Slow it down if you're forcing shots or speed it up and snatch the momentum if it's too slow. Down big? Take your points where you can get them. You see it every round - a team is down 9 and equates that as defcon 2. Time to shoot the three ball every possession! 

Just like in business, the team that wins adapts. Typically in March, the teams you play in the tournament you haven't faced throughout the year. Wichita State's 3-2 zone is ran differently than Duke's man-to-man. That seems obvious, but every school and conference has their own touches on their offense, defense and tempo. Therefore, Duke maybe saw a zone defense a few times when they played ACC teams in league play but it will be different when they play a Sunbelt school. The best team adapts to the situation they're seeing. In business, adaptation is critical or you will get left behind. There are times, just like in basketball when you stick to your game plan though too. Identifying when you need points to get back into the game and when to shoot the contested three can make or break the game and your business alike. And it doesn't matter your record throughout the year, but only what you accomplish in March. Their entire year is graded by how they do in the tournament. In business, stretch that out and treat each day like the tournament. Always be adapting. Win and move on.