You may hold a winning hand without realising it

Attitude - in poker and business - can be a bigger player than skill.

ON FRIDAY night, after having a wonderful evening with friends, I found myself in front of the TV engaged in the guilty pleasure of watching late night network television.

It's at this time of night that you often find true quality dramas that are relegated to "red-eye" spots while mind-numbing talent quests and cooking shows dominate prime time.

Unfortunately, late Friday night was not one of these and I ended up watching a recorded Texas Hold 'em Poker show. What has Texas Hold 'em got to do with your business? Nothing in terms of "the game" but everything in terms of how the game is played.

In the show that I watched, there were six champion players and one novice doing battle. I noticed something that was happening with the novice which can happen too in business - he kept losing when he had a winning hand.

Why did he lose? Because he was psyched out by his opposition. One champion player in particular used the same tactic to win hands by betting higher than the novice - the novice clearly lost confidence (body language showed this) and then folded, losing thousands of dollars each time.

Sometimes business people can be like the novice poker player when it comes to ideas, initiatives or even core business. Do you let your environment and circumstances influence you to the point that you step back from investing in staff and equipment or do you simply change nothing in the hope that the good times will come back?

Our world view and our attitude is a greater determinant of success than our skills and talents.

So how do you change this? Well, like the aforementioned poker player, you need to look at your "game" in a different way and a lot of times you will need someone from outside of your business to help you with this.

I do a lot of work with businesses and business people assessing their strategic direction and facilitating planning sessions. In these periods of reflection and planning, I have been able to assist them in identifying opportunities which they should be seizing, and maximising strengths which they don't immediately see themselves.

What a shame it would be for you to miss the big opportunity because you looked at the competition and incorrectly thought they had a better approach - often they don't and they may talk a good game but that's about it. Or you might be pessimistic about the economy and let an opportunity pass you by, however economic indicators show brighter days ahead. Or you might be so focused on reducing costs so much that you don't have enough resource to capitalise on a situation.

Business is as much about how you read situations as it is about how you react to them. I'd love to help you take your business to the next level. Like our friend the poker player, you might be holding all the aces and not know it.

Zenith Solutions is Wanganui's specialist business consulting practice. For help with your business' strategic direction and opportunities contact Russell on 021-244-2421