Things go wrong. It's how you react that counts....

For those of following the 2010 FIFA World Cup, you may be in the same position as me. Which is disappointed. After lots of build up the first match took place and it didn't turn out as expected. In my case it was England Vs USA, a game that England were expected to win. The final result was 1-1. There were two big cases of things going wrong in that game and reaction to them will be key.

The first point is the result itself. For England to progress to the knock-out stages it's likely that they now must achieve a victory in Friday's game Vs Algeria. With that requirement comes added pressure for all involved.

The second point is that the England goalkeeper, Rob Green, made a howler of a mistake that could haunt him forever if he allows it to. A mundane shot requiring the sort of save he would normally make with his eyes close ended up in the net after he failed to simply get his hands behind the ball. An error a schoolboy would be disapppointed with. To make matters worse, his error was watching by millions of people across the globe.

I hope that Rob Green gets the support of his team mates and family at this difficult time but the fact is, none of us can change what has gone before. We can learn from it, react to it, try to ensure that the negatives don't repeat and that the positives very much do.

What is done is done. We are where we are. How we choose to go forward is what counts.

Once again, it's how we execute which is so vitally important. Review yesterday, plan for tomorrow, make it happen today.

Battle of Wounded Knee

Not that one. Not the infamous massacre c. 1890. My left one. Of course! All is proceeding well in the attempt to fix the weakened joint as I attend to its every whim. Ice and heat, rest, specific exercises, weights, and cycling have all been employed in an attempt to correct the frailties that had crept in over time.

But no running for now. Which is a shame, but a necessary evil as I attempt to recover from the injury. But overall, things are going well, so reasons to be cheerful!

What does this have to do with business..? Well, not a lot specifically, although I did say I'd keep you updated with sporting exploits, good and bad.

That said, we often have what could be considered to be minor injuries in business with which we manfully struggle on. And just like I did with an injured knee, we can make matters worse in the process. I recently found out about 'referred pain' where you get discomfort away from the injury site, and also about overcompensating, where fit muscles take over from injured ones as a protective measure.

This happens all the time in business. How often has a star employee ended up exhausted and off sick due to carrying the weight of a team where one or more others don't pull their weight? This would be overcompensating.

Or a clearly failing department is ignored until it substantially impacts the business as a whole?

I was once called upon to coach a distribution company that had ignored the fact that it's warehouse and logistics group couldn't deliver the right goods, to the correct customer and the agreed time. It wasn't until customers started leaving in droves that the management called in the cavalry (see what I did there? :)). Was it fixable? Yes, but not without taking significant damage to reputation, finances and morale. I'd say this is considerable referred pain wouldn't you?

So whether it's a sporting twinge or a business niggle, address it early and often to stay fit and healthy for the long term. As we so often say, it not a sprint but a marathon!

If you have any business issues that you'd like to discuss or you think you'd benefit from a review of your business, please do get in touch.

Thanks as ever for stopping by.