Plan. Pivot. Persevere.

It’s a pretty amazing feeling when it all falls into place, isn’t it? You’ve done your homework. You put in the hard work and preparation. Now the stars are beginning to align. Slowly but surely, you start to see the results you were hoping for. Everything is going according to plan.

On the flip side though, it can be a real punch to the gut when all that effort and prep work doesn’t quite start off on the right foot. We’ve all seen this story play out time and time again. This is a pretty common theme in sports lately, especially on the big stage. One team gets hot while the other team suddenly realizes they are down in the series or facing a daunting deficit in the game. 

Cavs down 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the Cubs looking down and out in the World Series or the Pats losing by 25 in the Super Bowl. How does a team react when things don’t go their way?

Do they play the blame game? Do they crumble under the pressure? Perhaps they stick to the plan at hand, persist and hope for a different result?  Or do they adapt to the situation and switch up the gameplan? Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide were gut punched by Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs in the first half of this week’s College Football Playoff Championship. Bama was shutout in the first half of play and found themselves down 20-7 late in the 3^rd quarter. How did they react to this situation?

Well of course being a Nick Saban coached team, they persisted when it came to effort and intensity. They trusted “the Process.” What came as a surprise to many however, was the fact that Saban decided to adapt to the situation by turning to his bench. More specifically, to a true freshman QB with zero starts under his belt…at the start of the 3^rd quarter…in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. This bold change of plan paid off in a big way for Bama. 

So, ask yourself, how will you or your company react when things don’t go according to plan in 2018? Will you blame? Will you crumble? Will you simply continue as planned? Or will you adapt when the time is right? Saban didn’t call his audible until the start of the 4^th quarter. Yes, it’s important to be patient while your plan unfolds, but at a certain point you must recognize when it’s time to make a change in order to reach your goals. 

Being agile and trying something outside conventional wisdom can pay big dividends (just ask Nick!). So consider this in 2018 if your plans don’t pan out as you expected, be willing to try a different approach and think outside the box with Yalo. Dare to Defy. Dare to Fly.