Overall the United States Soccer Team did pretty well in the World Cup surviving the group of death (which many thought we wouldn’t) and making it into the round of 16 where we lost to Belgium in what I would call a disappointing game. Time Howard did all he could saving shot after shot that Belgium took on goal. The U.S. team botched passes, had very little rhythm, botched a wide open shot on goal, and barely made use of any of their offensive players despite having a greater overall possession percentage than their opponents. It was only in the 30 minutes of overtime where the U.S. played like a true world cup team coming up with some amazing opportunities. But why did they wait until overtime to start playing? If they would have played with the same intensity and creativity during regulation time then they could have very well advanced to the quarter finals.

I see a lot of similarity with between how the U.S. team played and how many companies approach their future. It’s only when tragedy strikes and when disaster is immanent that action is taken. Sometimes this approach works but oftentimes it does not. The moral of the story is don’t wait until it’s too late before you take action. There are only so many shots on goal (i.e challenges and obstacles) that a team or a company can take before it becomes a losing battle. Better to play your best right from the start, for companies around the world today this means taking action now.

Comments