If you have played golf before, either you or others in your group may have expressed disappointment in their golf shots with the use of one or more four letter words. Horace Hutchinson, an English amateur golfer in the 1800s provides this observation, "If profanity influenced the flight of the ball, the game of golf would be played far better than it is."

But we all know that profanity and anger don't make us better. Golf is a game where we often strive for perfection that cannot be attained.

I started playing golf when I was 12. I was taking lessons at the local public course and they had a youth tournament. I played in the tournament and came in 2nd place in my age division. I was pretty proud of myself until I found out there were only 2 competing in my age division. I have not played very consistently over the years, sometimes only once or twice a year. I am playing a bit more now and am becoming more consistent, scoring between the range of 95 and 105 for 18 holes. Not exactly a scratch golfer but I am improving and learning. Improving is a "grind" and I like that about golf.

Here are some lessons I am learning:

LESSON 1: As the famous philosopher, Yogi Berra once said, "Baseball is 90% mental. The Other Half is Physical." The Same Applies to Golf.

Bob Rotella, a famous golf/sports psychologist writes in his book, How Champions Think, "There is almost a perfect correlation between negative thinking and failure...Optimism is an attitude that people can choose to have."

I have grown up valuing humility. I have always believed under-promising and over-delivering was the right mindset. Like any good values and beliefs, overuse of them takes them from a strength to a weakness. In my case, too much humility can feed a lack of confidence in my own abilities and that is very limiting when it comes to an activity like golf. I have also always had high expectations of myself that are often not realistic based on my skills -- which can feed a thinking pattern of regular failure.

Choosing optimism and being confident in your own talents is important in a game where no golfer is perfect. I have learned that confidence and optimism cannot be based on your last shot or your last score. When I hit a ball into the lake, the sand trap, or the woods, I have learned that dwelling on a failure while I am taking my next shot will only hurt and not help. It is a work in progress but getting down on myself for not achieving an unrealistically high expectation based on my talent is not going to help. What does help is having a short memory about the shot in the lake and approaching my next swing with a belief that I will execute my swing mechanics better this time. The late Bobby Jones, a "golf influencer" of the past, once said, "Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course – the distance between your ears."

In business, there are a lot of expectations of you out there -- expectations you have of yourself and expectations others have of you. Those expectations may not always be met -- missing a sales goal, delivering for the customer past the due date, going over budget, etc. How can you choose optimism and an attitude of confidence in your own talents to execute what is on your plate right now...while tuning out the noise of unrealistic expectations?

LESSON 2: No Two Golf Shots are Ever the Same

Just as another famous philosopher, (Yoda) said, "Never step in the same river twice. Each time the river hurries on. Each time, he that steps has changed."

The same is true in playing golf. There may be shots that are quite similar but not likely to be the exactly the same. The weather and wind conditions are almost never exactly the same. The grass/ground you are hitting from might be dry one day or slightly softer the next day after rain the prior day. You might be hitting your 4 iron good one day but your swing path may change ever so slightly the next round. You might be focused on golf one day while another day some family challenges are impacting your mindset. I have learned that I must draw from my lessons learned but must make a fresh strategic decision each golf shot based on the conditions/situation at that time.

What makes this relevant in the workplace? The workplace environment is often governed by the repetition in process to achieve weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual financial results/performance metrics. The workplace is no different than the golf course. The process steps are often the same but the conditions are constantly changing. Maybe the customer's situation is changing. Maybe there was a success or quality issue that might affect the way things are done this time. Maybe you are using AI when you didn't before. Maybe there has been a leadership change at the top and the priorities/expectations/mindset have also changed. Always consider current conditions because we never step in the same river twice at work either.

LESSON 3: Recovering From a Bad Shot by Deciding to Take a Risky Next Shot is Not a Good Formula for Success

As discussed in Lesson 1 above, I can have unreasonably high expectations of my performance based on my talent/competency level. When I hit a poor golf shot, I can become disappointed with myself -- which often carries over to the next shot when I feel like I need to take a risk to recover. An example might be when I slice my tee shot to the right of the fairway behind some trees that are obstructing my path to hitting directly to the green. Should I try to hit the ball over or through the trees for the most direct route to the green or should I punch it into the fairway to mitigate the risk by taking the taking the extra stroke?

This actually happened in the Masters golf tournament a few weeks ago. Rory McIlroy was up by two strokes going into the final hole and just had to get a bogey (one over par) or a par. Unfortunately his tee shot went to the right behind a very tall tree that I am guessing was 30 yards away. He could have been safe by punching his next shot back into the fairway but he took a risk and hit over the trees successfully. I face that situation all the time. He took a calculated risk that considered his competency and talent. If I try that shot (which I often do), my probability of success is much lower because of my talent and capability level -- and often results in a worse score than it would have been if I had just punched it out into the fairway. What's the difference? As Warren Buffet has said, "True risk comes from not knowing what you are doing." That is me, not Rory McIlroy. His shot over the trees was a calculated risk based on his confidence in his plan, his experience, and his competency at this type of shot. Mine is a not a good plan because it is based on hope rather than a good plan based on a track record of competency.

In the business environment, we can approach things the same way. Maybe we had another quality issue with a customer and because we are fearing that we might lose the customer, we try an untested approach that has a high upside that also has a lot of risk. Do we have the talent and competency to take a calculated risk? Or if not, is it worth the risk of trying to "hit it over the trees with a low probability of success" or should we "punch the ball back into the fairway" to limit the mistake to one stroke?

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As the famous author, Napolean Hill, once said, "Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." I have found this to be true in golf, business, and life. Keep your four-letter words to yourself.

Mike Goodfriend is a Teamwork Engineer, Leadership Coach and Meeting Facilitator. He helps clients build a winning culture, develop their leadership skills, and work more effectively as a team. Mike can be reached at mikeg@goodfriendconsulting.com or (713) 789-6840.