Back on "The TOUR" - Posts from the Pete Dye Classic

Day 4: Wednesday

It’s finally here. Round 1 of the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic Presented by Northrup Grumman. As I write this post it is still dark (it just turned 5:00 a.m.). I am not alone though. PGA TOUR officials, caddies and players are starting to roll in – some have already eaten and are going over strategy for the course. Others are fishing at the pond in an effort to relax one last time before their quest for a trophy, $108,000 and perhaps a ticket to the PGA TOUR.

It made me think about how we prepare as marketing professionals. What do we do to get our clients, our campaigns and ourselves to victory? What’s our game plan? How do we formulate our strategies?

These are very important questions. If you haven’t thought them through you’re doing yourself and your profession a disservice.

I’ve spoken with a number of golfers this week and they’ve all shared with me the keys to success - practice, patience and a little luck.

Luck. That’s an interesting concept. A coach of mine once said, “luck is nothing more than preparation meeting opportunity.” I guess to some extent that’s true. But in looking at how these golfers prepare I am starting to believe that opportunity is truly possible only with adequate preparation.

Think about it. Do you really have a chance to win on the Nationwide Tour if you haven’t practiced your swing, worked on your irons or got your putting down to a science?

Is a marketing opportunity really an opportunity if you aren’t prepared to take advantage of it?

So when you get set to develop your next marketing campaign think of the golfers on the Nationwide Tour. It’s all about patience, practice and yes, a little luck. Luck that you’ve made possible by preparing yourself for the journey ahead.