Credit for this blog goes to a really good friend of mine, who seems to provide brief words of wisdom during our conversations without trying to be a know-it-all.

 

I normally hear this phrase from him during a day on the golf course. You see, I'll likely have hit my T-shot to the far right onto another fairway with golfers approaching.

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We will drive up and locate my ball, waving at the nice golfers who are patiently waiting for me to get out of their way. I'll climb out of the cart and look for my nine iron, fully intending to hit my ball over the tall trees and about 100 yards to my right to land where I know the green should be. 

As I'm eyeballing this most amazing shot that will draw awe and admiration from the crowd of one to my left, I suddenly hear Glenn say, "dude, what are you doing? Why don't you just punch it through this opening directly in front of us onto our own fairway and hit again from there? Minimize the damage."

 

So, what do I do? Well, if you ever golfed with me, and shared a beer or two, I'll likely try to crank that thing off over the trees a hundred yards to the right anyway LOL. And I'll usually fail miserably. Glenn will laugh at me. And we will go looking for my ball in the next set of trees while sharing another drink.

It is then that I get to hear my good friend elaborate on why it's important to minimize the damage.  It's even funnier, when we can't find my ball the second time and I have to take a one stroke penalty. So while he ends up with a 4 or 5 on that hole, I end up with a snowman, an 8.  Of course I know I'm better than that, and would've been much happier with a 6 on that par 4.

So I'm getting older and wiser (perhaps), and I will say, that I have started following his advice. I often hear him in my head at other times when I'm golfing, saying "minimize the damage Tommy."

This of course is a very important statement that even comes up during our lunch meetings or other business conversations. 

 

It's a fact that some my biggest regrets in business have often been from holding onto an employee too long, that eventually cost me a client or two that were important to my company's success. I should have seen through them earlier and parted ways with them quicker, minimizing the damage to my company.

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Or, not so stubbornly holding onto a bad client, that reduces company morale, and may even lead to losing a great employee. Are there ways to recognize these approaching dangers for what they are and minimize the damage? Usually with experience there are.

 

Here's another one, when considering another business venture that would overextend my staff and financial resources. I should really pause and consider how to minimize the risks and clearly define ahead of time what damage I'm comfortable taking. That will help determine and minimize the damage from stubbornly pushing forward.

 

So, to my friend a sincere "thank you" for that piece of advice. I'll do my best to consider your words of wisdom and "minimize the damage" as I approach challenges in life and business.