Leadership – Who Wins the Game?
- 14/07/2026
- Posted by: Steve Wood
- Categories: Established business, Leadership, News, SME, Startup
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A feeling of success…There are certain things we do which lead to a feeling of success.Money earned. Spare time created. Kudos received. Love gained. Connection made. Reputation built. Feeling good. And so on. … balanced by the opposite, There are things which are negative. Poor results. Bad feelings. No outcomes. Negative cashflow. Business losses. Loss of job or income. Separation. Divorce. Death. … and the noise, Then there is the noise around us. The mainstream media is telling us how we should be. Social media is feeding us with all the stories of others who are successful and who have made it. … and people around us. Then there are our closest relationships. Families who have their own views and say we should do this or do that. Teachers who say, “Come on, you can do better”. Bosses who want you to deliver, deliver, deliver. But “who wins the game?”I asked that question to someone I was mentoring, “Who wins the game?”My mentee is a senior person. A business owner. A very capable, super smart person. A good decision maker. “What do you mean?” I mean, “Who wins? What do you need to do to win the game?” An idea popped out. “Have a plan”. Yes. Another idea. “Be organised.” Yes. What else? “Well in my industry…”, “It’s not about you”, I said. “It’s a game. Theoretical. On a gaming board. Like chess, but different. With an unknown number of players. So, who wins?” What did Warren Buffet do during the GFC?He helped Goldman Sachs to survive.How did he do that? He provided cash. What else did he give? What other conditions did he ask for? Lots, I suspect. Where does he stand now? He is a major shareholder of a global investment bank. How much did it cost him? Not much, apart from the cash he provided. And they gave him equity! How did he manage to do that? He had the cash. How much? Millions of dollars. So, what did Warren Buffet do to be successful? He did many things. 1. He had a plan. 2. He was prepared. 3. He had savings. 4. He had investments. 5. He was still there when everyone else had said no. 6. Then he stated his conditions. 7. And they said yes, please. “What does it take to win?”Do you have a view? Here are some thought starters. Apologies for the apparent simplicity.1. Have a target. 2. Have a focus. 3. Have a plan. 4. Ignore the noise. 5. Work towards your goal. 6. Ignore everything else. 7. Ignore the naysayers and their noise. 8. Work. 9. Be grateful for what you have. 10. Be clear again about your goal. 11. Work some more. 12. Live below your means. 13. Save and build financial and time buffers. 14. Learn and grow as a person. 15. Push your personal boundaries. 16. Experiment and learn some more. 17. Realise that you can. 18. Ignore the noise. 19. Ignore the people who say you can’t. 20. Work until success arrives. You have probably worked out the pattern now.The secret to winning the game is this.1. Be clear about what game you are in. 2. Be clear about what your end game is. 3. Then work. 4. Learn. 5. Save. 6. Build buffers. 7. Learn more. 8. Invest. 9. Push your personal growth. 10. Learn more. 11. Invest more. 12. Create levers. 13. Then work the levers. It’s a short story. But it is super powerful. To learn more about Leadership, you can read more within my book “Leadership for Growth”. Leadership for Growth: Chapter “Leading the Business”, pp. 81-111 Or you can listen to “Leadership for Growth” audio podcast Ep28. Steve Wood is a management consultant who helps business owners to achieve their own roaring success. |
Steve Wood is a management consultant who helps business owners to achieve their own roaring success.
