Stick and Move

A few nights ago I was getting punched in the face. Not a lot, but enough for me to realize that it annoys me.

I was fighting three of my sparring partners, all of them with a longer reach than me. I can shrug off a body shot like it never happened, but there’s something special about having my cage rattled. Even as my brain responded to each punch to my forehead or chin inside of a millisecond with, “What the–??” and then, “Ouch!” and then, “Don’t let that happen again, Captain!” (that’s what my brain calls me when we talk to each other, Captain, and in a Scottish accent no less) I was still reminded of a few lessons that not only apply to fighting and defending myself, but also in my business and personal life… 

1. Stick…   You can knock someone off focus with just a jab. Remember General George S. Patton’s famous mantra to his field commanders?  “I want you to hold onto them (the enemy) by the nose, and then kick them in the pants.”   In a fight, in life, in business, you can maintain control, or at least buy yourself some time, with minimal resources. It doesn’t have to be the “Big Right Hook” all the time. It can’t be. Too expensive. Too much mobilization of resources required to deliver it.  A jab however, in all its metaphorical forms, is a quick and easy way to set someone back on their heels so that you maintain control of the interaction and thus dictate the next step. And the next one after that. Until you’re ready to deliver the big right hook, win the argument, choose the restaurant, or close the sale.
2. …and Move. Keep moving. And not in and out, back and forth, either. Forget the full-frontal attack and retreat game. That’s for amateurs. Napoleon Bonaparte taught us that two hundred years ago. Instead, work the angles. Circle to the flank. Hit there. Try to get to the soft and unprotected spots on your opponent’s sides and rear. Can we do this in business? Every day. When we’re competing for a new client, why go head-to-head against our competitor’s strength? Yield that space and move the fight for your prospect’s attention to ground of YOUR choosing. A place where you have the upper hand.

How will you stick and move today?