At EthosData we love competing! Our Virtual Data Room competes with the likes of Ansarada, Intralinks and Merrill all the time. Competition brings out the best in us so we wanted to take that competitive spirit into the sports arena by participating in a corporate cricket tournament. Over the last 3 months, we played against IIT Alumni, Foresight Communications, WCE, JPKU and SpiceJet in a T20 cricket tournament that also included Metlife, Vadilal, HMV and GS Corporate. In the road to victory in a thrilling final, here are the lessons we learnt:
1. Clear Communication Is Crucial
Our Virtual-Data-Room Deal Coordinators know what their roles are. They often have to wear multiple hats to service our clients exceptionally well. However if they were not made aware of what they are suppose to do from the start then the system we rely on to differentiate ourselves from the competition would fail.
In our cricket team, from the get go every player was told what their role in the team was. Batsmen who could bowl and bowlers who could bat were told to focus only on their main roles first. When each player knew what he was suppose to do before coming to the field, he was able to focus. Complete transparency worked well in sport as well.
2. Reliability Solidifies Trust
when players backed out last minute without regard to the impact they will have on the captain or the team, they were not called back to play. Reliability is one of the key pillars of success. You can be extremely talented but if you are unreliable you will struggle to achieve your objectives. We have been able to grow in the Virtual Data Room industry because clients came back to us for repeat business. After running one multi-million dollar transaction with us they realised that they could rely on us for the second and the third. Similarly the right team members who turned up on time, contributed by playing their part and had the right attitude created team unity and trust that solidified the cricket team.
3. Focus On Process Gets Better Results Than Focus On Outcome
Each and every Virtual Data Room we run goes through a rock solid process from signup all the way to conclusion. Our team of deal coordinators are trained to follow the process because it efficiently nullifies errors. Similarly when we stepped on to the cricket field we told ourselves that as long as we did the basics right we didn’t have to think about the results. The basics meant focus on batting for batsman, bowling the right line and length for the bowlers and fielding well when the ball came ones way. That is what we told each other and that is what lead to exceptional performances. Keep-It-Simple is a good philosophy to follow.
4. Never Give Up
We don’t win every Virtual Data Room we bid for but we win more often than not because we never give up on understanding our clients requirement. On the cricket field everyone gave their 100% even when victory seemed unlikely. That persistence paid off because at the slimmest opportunity to get back in the game we did. The result was the difference between victory and defeat.
5. Make Everyone Feel A Part Of The Team
If the people who make your team feel like a cog in the wheel then I can guarantee that they will not stick around for long but while they are around your performance will be sub-optimal. Its important to listen to your teammates suggestions. If they are wise then be open enough to incorporate them and if you don’t share the same point of view then tell them why. Inclusiveness breeds unity.
Conclusion
Sports is a great equalizer. The 11 players who played for EthosData did not have any stars like some of the other teams. The sum of our united team was greater than the sum of our parts however. This was evident if you look at the road map of the victories. Everytime we won, the man of the match was a different player. Everyone chipped in to contribute to our success.
After the victory we are considering taking our team to compete against our corporate virtual data room clients in Australia. Do you think the team will be able to win the fast bouncy tracks in the Australian land? We say we can!
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