Five business lessons to be learned from the Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is a great metaphor for many elements of business, as both are about discipline, teamwork and efficiency. Here are five business lessons.

By Mark Taylor

11 Nov 2015

Five business lessons to be learned from the Rugby World Cup

Face every challenge with preparation - It has been estimated the average rugby player runs about seven or eight kilometres during an 80 minute match. No matter how quickly your team dips or how well they throw, if they are unfit, it is worth nothing. It is the same in business. Prepare for your day, prepare for meetings and plan how you will split the day to get everything done. Think ahead. People underestimate the importance of mental preparation too. Identify objectives for every task, then analyse whether you have completed them or not. Be conscious of what is ahead.
There is no padding in life - The bigger you are, the harder the knocks. Rugby, in many ways, is a wild and crazy game, with tackles unlike any other sport. An average scrum packs 7000 Newton force and when the team has done at the scrum, the knocks do not stop. Rugby players do not wear shin pads, and only a few wear scrumcaps. However, they are always ready for the blows the game delivers. In business, you can have a day full of small victories, but they will be followed up, at some point, with a series of blows. Learn how to take them, pick yourself up, identify key learnings and then quickly recover.
Teamwork builds motivation - A world-class rugby team in operation is nothing if not a perfectly executed group performance. Rugby players cannot perform in isolation - both in prep and in play. They rely on their team for support, to identify new opportunities and gaps in the defence. Business is no different. Never underestimate the value of a cohesive team - it is a force to be reckoned with.
Do not look busy for the sake of it - You can be on the field; you can even be wearing the kit but that does not make you a player. Dashing around a field pretending to do things will only tire you out - and you will just get in the way of your team. If you are going to show up, be present. So often we fool ourselves into thinking that checking emails and delicately creating a Feng Shui desk is work - it is not. If you take advantage of the hours you spend at the office and work constructively from the time you arrive to the time you leave, you will be out the door on time. Do not pretend to be busy.
Play to your strengths - A rugby team consists of fifteen players, with another seven on the bench. Every player knows exactly what he will do the moment he gets onto the field. He is fully aware of his strengths and weaknesses. A powerful workforce is one when each staff member is cognisant of his or her role in the business and plays to those strengths. A team of individually powerful players - whether in business or sport - combined to support each other with their respective strengths, can be unbeatable.

About Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor, chief executive officer (CEO) of Nashua Mobile, is an ICT industry veteran with more than two decades of experience. Prior to re-joining Nashua Mobile on 1 October 2012, Taylor was the managing director (MD) of Vodacom Payment Services (M-PESA) as well as managing executive for Vodacom's Supply Chain and Logistics divisions.
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