Andrew Luck, as the new kid in town, has the daunting task of filling the shoes of a legendary quarterback and simultaneously re-creating the Indianapolis Colts as a winning franchise. Heralded as a champion before even taking the field, Luck is guaranteed a certain degree of success and failure.
With Luck, journalists not only have a fresh story, but they will have hundreds of clichés, puns and adages using the words “luck” and “lucky” at their disposal. From this point on, every story associated with the Colts will have an element of “luck” to it.
Of course, very little of Luck’s success will depend on actual “luck.” Almost his entire life, Luck has been relentlessly training and preparing to take the stage in ways that fans do not and cannot fathom. His success will occur, if at all, because of years of physical and mental preparation, one step and one day at a time. When he takes the field, Luck will succeed only as well as he has prepared.
Successful companies follow a similar pattern as Andrew Luck. Business success is built and maintained through years of planning and preparation, one step and one day at a time. The consuming public is unaware of the cost and effort that lead to success. Like Colts fans on game day, consumers expect an outstanding performance and a winning product or service every time, regardless of what it takes.
Luck would admit that his preparation and ultimate success depends on selecting and trusting excellent trainers and coaches to teach fundamentals and to develop winning techniques and strategies. Similarly, successful businesses choose and utilize a close group of professional, trusted advisors that contribute to making and delivering the ultimate product or service.
Like Luck on game day, businesses will face difficult challenges, but the planning and preparation will cause them to avert or mitigate any adverse consequences and to achieve a higher degree of success. The success may seem like “luck,” but it isn’t.