17 November 2006
The Rutgers Chop Is Not Just For Football…
I’m from New Jersey, if you already don’t know. I was proudly born and raised in Norwood, NJ, a town only a few miles from New York City. Growing up, 50% of everyone you knew would attend Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Some of my best friends go there, and I’ve even taken a class there in the past. If you haven’t partied there, trust me you ARE missing out. This is coming from someone who has gone to the University of Miami, so trust me on this. Anyway, up until recently, more like this year, Rutgers football, well hasn’t been anything too amazing. Fast forward to this year, and Rutgers is a Top 10 football program, that’s right, and undefeated. One of the key ingredients according to their Fearsome Leader, Greg Schiano, is “The Chop”. What is it? Simply put:
“Coach Greg Schiano has instilled the phrase with the No. 14 Scarlet Knights, his way of telling the team to maintain focus no matter what the situation. “
This applies easily to a football game, but it applies to business just as easily. Here are some simple scenarios where “The Chop” applies to business.
1.) STAY FOCUSED
A startup will throw you tons of curve balls. Your team is small, your budget is limited (even if you are venture or angel funded), and your immediate future is uncertain. This may even be your first startup, which makes it even harder. The best thing you can do as an entrepreneur is to keep moving forward. Set your goals up, and then knock them down. If things come along in between… which they will, ignore the drama/ bullshit, and take care of the very few that are important. Once that’s done, get back to your goals and keep chopping. If you have a goal, just get it done. SEE A GOAL, CHOP IT DOWN UNTIL IT IS FINISHED.
2.) Adapt And Keep Moving
In Football, you may lose your quarterback due to injury in the second quarter or receive an unjust penalty. Guess what? Life is unfair. Football teams that succeed adapt to the changes, and stay focused on their goal of winning the game. As an entrepreneur, you may get thrown curveballs, have a venture deal fall through, lose a partnership, have downtime, lose a key team-mate,etc. The best thing you can do is understand the situation, take it in, and ADAPT. Once you’ve adapted, stay focused on your goals. See a curveball, CHOP IT DOWN.
I hope everyone found this useful. Entrepreneurship is a lot like a football game:
- It is long. Football is not one quarter, one game, but a series of games leading to a championship. Sometimes games have overtime. YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT FOR THE LONG RUN.
- You will lose. It’s inevitable, you will lose some games. You really lose, if you do not learn what you did wrong during those games. Same thing with entrepreneurship. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES.
- It is a team sport. Football is a team sport, and the best teams succeed. Entrepreneurship is the same. Ask any venture investor, potential hire, advisor, or even seasoned co-founder… THE BET IS PLACED ON THE TEAM.
I’m not a sports expert by any means. If anyone has any contributions to this post ie- analogies, insight,etc. post them in the comments. I’ll add them to the post. Thanks again everyone.
Technorati Tags: rutgers, football, bcs, rutgers football, greg schiano, new jersey, entrepreneurship, rutgers chop, the rutgers chop, scarlet knights, business, web 2.0, blogging, startups, jason l. baptiste
