Golf is Good for Business
Golf is Good for Business
So I did what any self-respecting lower-order employee with any sense of self preservation would do. I switched sides and joined the growing legions of people who played golf for business purposes. I became a disciple of business on the links, quickly realising that the reason you very rarely see golfers smiling is because they're really not enjoying what they're doing, which is actually a job of work under the most difficult of circumstances.
Where most non-golfers become confused about business on the golf course is about how exactly it is done. And it is not done by trying to sell something to your partner or opponents at the top of their backswings or when they've just hit a second provisional shot into the water. That will only get you the business end of a sand wedge. No, golf is rather a precursor to business. It is a relationship builder. As the relationship marketing gurus say, bonds between strangers are built when they share some form of experience and the more traumatic it is the better the bond. Well, golf has enough trauma to cement bonds tighter than superglue. Once two people have played golf together, some form of gentleman's agreement clicks into place, which means phone calls will always be returned and so forth. Barriers break down, playing fields are levelled and first names are the order of the day forever more.
I remember the first time I played golf with Derek Keys when he was Finance Minister. As we walked to the first tee, well he walked and I kind of grovelled, occasionally scraping my golf peak along the ground, I called him "Mr Minister, Sir, Your Worship", and he didn't call me anything mainly because he hadn't the foggiest idea of who I was. But before the first shot was played, introductions were made and he said "call me Derek". Apart from the fact that by the fifth hole I was calling him a lot of things other than Derek, the playing fields were levelled, we were all equals, all mates enjoying an afternoon in the sun, all playing pretty bad golf actually.
But, there is another side to doing business on the golf course. Because it is a game where contestants never play against each other but individually play against the course, it is a great place to find out what makes a person tick. In the space of four or five hours you will find out more about a complete stranger than his psychiatrist, mother or father confessor. You will find out if he is honest, whether he has his temper under control or whether he is volatile. Whether he has staying power, will power, mind power and power of persuasion. You will understand precisely where he comes from in terms of political, social and economic thinking. All in the space of a few hours.
But, whether it is on the golf course or white water rafting or some similar activity, the point is that solid, lasting business relationships are not forged over a cup of tea or lunch table. They are forged over shared and memorable experiences. And as I said, the more traumatic the better. Surviving a plane crash, flood or earthquake can bring people together in a lifelong bond. But, those things are extremely dangerous. Golf, however, is equally traumatic but far less life threatening. That's why it is such a powerful business tool.
Chris Moerdyk
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