Thanks to teen movies, many people have this stereotypical idea
of cheerleaders as being ditzy and mean. However, there are a
great many life-lessons that can be learned during your time on
the team that have surprising application in the business world.
1. Getting to the top of the pyramid means taking a few
risks. The person at the top of the pyramid is the one who
is willing to take the risks, usually in the form of a backflip
or a layout. It helps to be light, nimble, and flexible. Since
you are the person with the farthest to fall, you have to be
able to rely on the stability of the team suporting you.
Fortunately, in business no one actually tosses you ten feet
into the air and expects you land on your feet.
Well, almost never.
2. Step lightly on your way to the top. You can't simply
manipulate and coerce your way to the top of the pyramid. Well,
you can, but then when it comes time to perform a trust fall,
you may have a slight problem.
This corollary of point number one seems to have escaped quite a
few people. Some seem to think that "underlings" are meant to be
stepped on, climbed over, and not-so-subtly kicked on the way
up. It's one thing to accidentally land on someone's foot, but
some people leave a trail of crushed clavicles and contusions.
These are the same people who discover that when they are in
trouble, no one will return their calls.
Make sure you know the difference between who is "underneath
you" and who is "holding you up" - it's a big one.
3. Keep cheering loudly, even you are winning. This is a
marketing lesson if ever there was one. So you've landed the big
client. Maybe you've landed several. Don't stop marketing your
company and looking for new clients just because you are
currently busy. Projects end, businesses change, decision-makers
come and go - make sure you've got new clients lined up. It's
the only way to keep your company growing, your cash flowing,
and V-I-C-T- oh nevermind.
4. Having the lead at halftime doesn't mean you can slack for
the last half of the game. So you were first to market with
your product, or maybe you built a better mousetrap.
Right now there is someone out there thinking about how they can
capture your market share with a bigger, better, faster version.
Besides, in business the game doesn't actually end - you might
be winning at a given moment, but you never can say you've "won."
(I know: that was a stretch for cheerleading. But cheerleaders
need to stretch.)
5. As mom used to say, "if you are going to do a backflip in
a miniskirt, you'd better be wearing your best underneath."
Actually, when mom said it, I think there was a bus involved
somehow, but close enough.
Don't call attention to practices that you don't actually want
scrutinized. Better still, don't get involved in practices that
can't stand up to scrutiny. Sooner or later someone is going to
examine what's behind the hype.
Sometimes it's vapourware, and sometimes it's fraud. Sometimes
it's just a matter of making an announcement of your latest
greatest product so far in advance of it actually coming to
market that the buzz comes and goes without paying off in terms
of sales.
Whatever the cause, get your house in order before throwing the
doors open. Sooner or later, someone is going to ask that
question.
For more details, see: Hollinger, Enron, or Worldcom. Of course,
it's best not to get mental images of Bernard Ebbers wearing a
miniskirt.
About the author:
? 2005 Gisela McKay. Gisela McKay is Chief Technology Officer of
pixcode Inc. - www.pixcode.com
Gisela envisions new applications for technology, and then makes
sure they become reality. Gisela wrote this article to combat
that common exclamation: "YOU were a cheerleader? But you seem
so smart!"
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