James Metzger - Everything I ever needed to know about business I learned on the sports field

Ice Cream Rewards For A Job Well Done
Aug 04, 2014Posted by james

At the U.S. Women’s Open a little more than a month ago, the debut for one player was marred by a couple of double bogeys and a triple bogey. She failed to find the fairway on one shot. She hit another into a bunker. The shot out of the sand rolled past the flag and off the green. She hit her chip about 20 feet past the hole.

This new player on the circuit finished the day at eight-over-par 78. Despite the problems and probably some jitters, she remained upbeat. “It was a lot of fun,” said Lucy Li. “I kind of struggled today, but it was great.”

Then she took a bite from a pink ice cream bar. As she continued to talk with the media, she occasionally giggled and grinned, revealing a mouthful of braces.

Lucy Li is just 11 years old, and on this day she beat a few other players who posted first-round 79s. More than a dozen players did not break 80.

One player said that while Lucy may look 11, she doesn’t speak as most 11-year-olds and she certainly doesn’t hit a golf ball the way other children do at that age.

At such a tender age, Lucy already knows how to place her game in perspective. “I learned that you’ve got to be patient,” she said. “One shot at a time. Try to get rid of the big numbers.”

That’s much the same way we operate around the office. We remain patient. We address one issue at a time with our clients. We try not to overwhelm them and ourselves with big problems.

When a workday is over, whether it was spent on the golf course or in the office, we all must remember to reward ourselves for a job well done no matter the outcome. Lucy already knows what to do. When she was asked about her plans for the rest of the day after her debut, she grinned and said: “Eat some more ice cream.”