What a game, right? Now you know why I wanted to take a break. This is Part 2 of my blog post, 6 Things I Know About Basketball (and the Sign Business). In case you missed Part 1, find it here.
4. It’s not all fun and games.
Taking your play to the next level
Of course winning feels good. But even when our team is playing top-notch ball, we know there’s a team out there that could beat us. And particularly with young athletes, we know the competition is going to get tougher each year. As a coach, I have to balance letting the girls enjoy the game and their successes while at the same time pushing them to work harder and improve, so they can find success at the next level.
At Metro Sign, we work with businesses of different sizes in many different industries. I am proud to say Metro employees take as much pride in making one sign for a small, single-location business as they do in making multiple signs for a national chain. But more than that, our sales team and designers and all of our employees work hard to ensure the signs they make will be a part of each business’s success. They spend extra hours learning how to work with new materials, they’re committed to completing more than the required education hours to maintain all of our safety training certifications, and they’re dedicated, creative problem-solvers. The payoff? There’s no greater feeling than when a customer comes back to us and say, “I need to get more signs from you – because I’m expanding!”
Just as I try to prep my teams for the next season, we try to (gently) push our business clients to the next level. What’s the competition look like? Do they use illuminated signs? Would an awning give you an edge in the neighborhood, make your shop stand out? Do vehicle wraps make sense for your delivery trucks? What will help you grow?
Why do we do it? Well, we’re human. We like to win.
5. Teams win, individuals contribute.
Your success is our success
A primary theme of any basketball coach is teaching the importance of utilizing individual talents for the greater good of the whole. A group working in harmony, communicating and assisting one another will reach their full potential.
Seeing this evolve is one of the great rewards of being a coach.
And at Metro – the best way I can put it is, “Ditto.”
6. I love both jobs.
Success is all about how you define “win”
I feel I have found success in coaching not because of wins but based on the fact that every girl told me she would play next year and that she’d had a blast. The parents echoed the girls’ enthusiasm. Sure, the competitive juices get going in the course of every season and I want the team to do well (yes win!) but I regularly remind myself, these are growing kids. Seeing the improvements they make, the friendships they build and the genuine fun they have makes it a great experience. Not to mention the quality time I get to spend with my daughters (who are growing up too fast). It’s just awesome and I’ll be sorry when it ends.
Sometimes my “competitive juices” get going here in our manufacturing and design facility, too. Like any job, there are aspects I truly enjoy as well as obstacles I need to face. Whether it is great sign that our customer would like to have but the city won’t allow it, a large past-due balance, or a short lead time for a complex sign, business realities can eat me up at times. I find dealing with those types of challenges and resolving them to the best of my ability is rewarding. In addition, I love the opportunity to be creative in this business, along with the opportunity to work with so many talented, hard-working and inspiring professionals across a wide range of industries. It truly is a pleasure; there is never a dull day. I realize I’m one of the lucky ones – I love what I do, both on the sidelines and on our shop floor.
Now that my most recent coaching gig is over, I’ll reserve my courtside comments for our
Facebook page. I’d be delighted if you’d join me there.
