It’s a New Day: Charge!

Trying to get into your work day can often be challenging. You’re tired, and there’s a long day ahead. And whether it’s a cup of coffee, or a chat with a coworker, or a safety talk with a manager—we all have different ways to get us going and being productive.

I’ve coached soccer teams for years and a frequent challenge is how to get a team to play well right from the first whistle. If your team takes too long to get into the match, you can find yourself quickly down a goal or two and possibly looking at new game plans.

I’ve tinkered with different warm-up drills, speeches, and positional line-ups. Sometimes, those work. Other times, I’m left wondering, what do I have to do to wake everyone up?

One simple strategy seems to work better than others: blindly attack.

Our usual strategy is to keep possession of the ball and to pass it from player to player to develop a good attacking structure and to expose weaknesses in the other team. However, I’ve found that if we begin doing that in the opening moments, we find ourselves going backward, worrying about making mistakes, and not enjoying the competition.

So, for the first few moments of a game, I’ll tell my players to do nothing but launch long balls up the field while everyone rushes up and puts the other team under pressure. This often catches the other team retreating and panicking and builds confidence and excitement for our players. And as an added bonus, it’s fun and daring—something that the players love.

In the game of chess, it’s essential to have a strong opening to succeed. If you look up advice about what first moves to make, some chess experts suggest to “open with a centre pawn” and “develop with threats.”

The recommended approach is to fight for control of the middle and to get certain attacking pieces—knights and then bishops—out into the fray.

Both this chess and soccer tactic for how to begin quickly can apply to our daily work. Pick something to do and attack it. Make it simple and just begin.

Writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!”

I’ll often ask my soccer players before a game, “Do you want to be the hunters or the hunted?” You’ll begin your work day better if you’re hunting your work, rather than the other way around.