It isn't easy hitting greens, especially if you slice your tee shot off into the rough or push it into the trees or hook it into a bunker.
Management consultant Donald E. McHugh knows the challenges of both the golf course and the fields on which people play the games of business and life.
In "Golf and the Game of Leadership," he has fused the knowledge he gained as an executive at General Motors and Owens-Illinois, a U.S. Navy captain and a consultant to corporate leaders with his passion for golf to create a highly readable and insightful manual for successful leading and living.
McHugh proceeds on the assumption that the golf-leadership metaphor will be readily understood and accepted by the 27 million Americans and others around the world who play regularly.
"Many more millions daily attempt to play the game of leadership. Both games are played with widely, and wildly, ranging results. Success at golf is exhilarating. Failure at the game is disappointing. Success at leadership brings a sense of accomplishment. Failure at leadership can be detrimental to the leader, harmful to followers and disastrous for organizations, as illustrated, for example, by Enron, Lucent, WorldCom, Corning, LTV, Rite-Aid, and others," McHugh writes.
The book, fittingly, is divided into 18 chapters, or holes. Each hole focuses on a common requirement for success in golf and leadership. The eighth hole, for example, focuses on focus.
"Leaders can learn a great deal from watching professional golfers focus in the here and now on the shot immediately facing them. They can also learn from the professional golfer's focus on the future. Professional golfers do not dwell on yesterday's round but learn from it. They focus on today's round in order to shoot the lowest score possible. They think about tomorrow's round in terms of strategy and objectives," McHugh writes.
The other holes: No. 1, You've Gotta Love the Game; No. 2, Simple, Yet Difficult; No. 3, Values Are the Drivers; No. 4, Play by the Rules; No. 5, Tee It Up With Vision; No. 6, Posture, Grip, Alignment (PGA); No. 7, The Slight Edge; No. 9, Responsibility; No. 10, Big Bertha's Confidence; No. 11, Performance Expectations; No. 12, Courage; No. 13, Recognize Positive Results; No. 14, Provide Positive Feedback; No. 15, Accept Change _ Adapt; No. 16 Caddies, Coaches and Teams; No. 17, An Optimistic Outlook, and No. 18, It's Up to You.
McHugh spices the book with many funny anecdotes. He reminds some readers and informs others about why a golf course has 18 holes, for example.
"Golfers know that Scotland is generally acclaimed as the birthplace of golf, and certainly of the game as we play it today. Legend has it that during a discussion among the club's membership board at St. Andrews in 1858, one of the members pointed out that it took exactly 18 shots to polish off a fifth of Scotch. By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch per hole, the Scot figured that a round of golf was finished when the Scotch ran out. Hence, 18 holes. Fact or fiction, I like the story," McHugh writes.
He also likes the story, fact or fiction, of a conversation that supposedly occurred between Tiger Woods and singer Stevie Wonder. During that conversation, Tiger is astonished to learn that Wonder, who is blind, plays golf. He asks how, and Wonder tells him that he has the caddy go down the fairway and call back to him and then hits the ball in that direction.
On the green, Wonder says, he has his caddy lie down and put his head next to the hole, then putts toward the caddy's voice.
Woods is incredulous. "We've got to play a round sometime," he says.
"Well, people don't take me seriously," Wonder replies. "So I only play for money and never play for less than $10,000 a hole.
After thinking about it for minute, Woods says: "OK, I'm game for that. When would you like to play?"
Wonder says, "Pick a night."
That story tees up Hole No. 11,Performance Expectations. The point of the chapter is that neither golfers nor leaders "want to play in the dark." They want to be able to keep score and know where they stand with each stroke.
Within the context of comparing how golfers and leaders keep score about meeting or exceeding expectations, McHugh hits a hole in one with his succinct definition of leadership: "the art of enabling others to achieve success."
He strongly emphasizes the importance of honor and integrity in golf and leadership.
"How many opportunities do we have to kick the ball out of the rough and improve our lie? Are we tempted to not count a whiff or a topped shot that only moves a few feet? Our golf game often tests our personal honor. Have you ever played with a 'sandbagger' (cheater)? What do you think of that person? Would you, or do you, trust them off the course?" McHugh asks.
Leaders, McHugh writes, face similar temptations when they find themselves in the rough with no one watching.
"It's tempting to adjust the figures in a report to improve your lie. We've seen the actions of leaders who lack the integrity to do the right thing in these and similar situations. How effective are they? How many actually get away with it?" he asks.
The literature of leadership advice abounds with valiant efforts to link sports with business and professional success. Many of those books attempt too much of a reach and fly out of bounds. With "Golf and the Game of Leadership," McHugh has nailed the ball right down the center of the fairway.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram