In case you missed it, 22 year old, Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland had one of the greatest turnarounds in any sport on Sunday at Golf's US Open.
Just two months ago he took a several shot lead going into the last day at the Masters and ended up in 15th place at the end of the day. He had a meltdown of historic proportions. On the 10th hole he hit a house and ended up with a score of 80. Abysmal for a professional golfer and especially one who had been leading for several days in the tournament.
Fast forward to last weekend at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Rory lead the field at the end of every day of the tournament. He dominated the tournament, breaking all sorts of records and winning by 8 strokes over his nearest competitor. How did he do it and what lessons can we take from the experience for business?
1) Be humble: After the Masters, Rory was gracious to a fault. Instead of storming off the course in a rage he answered question after question from reporters about his painful loss. He admitted it was a very difficult experience but he expected it to be a learning experience.
2) Take stock: Rory said he really thought about what changes he needed to make to endure the pressure of leading at a Major golf tournament.
3) Double down: Instead of holding onto the past Rory became even more committed to winning and he played so well that it was basically impossible for anyone to catch him.
4) Play to win/Not to avoid losing: Playing in a way where he was afraid of losing didn't work at the Masters. He needed to continue trying to shoot low scores at the US Open to keep his competitors on their heels. He forgot about the fear.
As real estate investors our mistakes won't ever be as public as a professional golfers but we are sure to have them. We can learn from them, grow from them, and draw on them to become better business people.
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