Developing ability to handle big deals

occasion during tough games. He has the propensity for finding good bass territories particularly during tough competitions.
Chris hardly gets awards during the fishing season but he has the gift of winning very tough competitions particularly when the bites are far apart.
Though he was not particularly good the whole winter, Chris again brew a shocker around 5 o’clock when most competitors were packing their bags. He got an aggressive bite, and with the aplomb of a veteran, he struck it meticulously.
He spent about 20 minutes fighting it in the water until he brought it to the surface. He caught the match-winning 10kg bass.
During the awards ceremony I noticed tears dripping down the faces of Tinashe and Joy.
Their team members told me that Tinashe’s potential match-winning bass snapped when it was just a metre from the boat. Joy had earlier caught what could have been the catch of the day. He skilfully dragged it to his boat.
With the assistance of a landing net he was able to take it out of water. He removed his hook and clutched the bass with both his hands and got into his celebratory mood capped off with his usual kwasa kwasa dance.
However, while he was still celebrating, the bass somehow slipped from his hands and fell back into the dam. This signalled an end to Joy’s day (though it was still 1200 hours). He spent the whole afternoon crying over his lost catch. It was a case of “so near yet so far”.
Honestly, how could one be so careless as to release a bass during such a crucial competition? Joy could not forgive himself for being so careless. Up to now he still talks about his missed opportunity.
Some soccer-loving Zimbabweans will never forgive or forget former national soccer team striker Wilfred Mugeyi for missing what they considered to be a sitter against Egypt in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations soccer group matches.
This appears to have marked a turning point in Wilfred’s glittering soccer career. In my view he might have failed to get over it.
In the 2011/12 Uefa Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich the commentator remarked that Didier Drogba has a “big match temperament”. Drogba went on to score a “bullet header” to equalise with two minutes remaining and forced the game into extra time and penalties.
He also scored the winning penalty. He rose to the big occasion when he was needed.
Similarly, in a business environment there are people who have a knack for scuttling deals.
Once such people get involved in a deal, the company would be most likely to lose money.
There are lots of vineyard keepers with slippery hands like Joy. Every time these people participate in a deal, the deal faces some hindrances and sometimes collapses.
What makes people lose big opportunities?
Both Tinashe and Joy did not have “big match temperament”. They tend to lose concentration in big matches. They collapse under the weight of pressure, either due to uncontrolled excitement or mere carelessness.
Everyone wants to be a winner. The feeling of anticipation and achieving brings with it a sense of self-fulfilment.
Winning brings about emotions. Moreover, during the process of completing big deals people start fantasising about what they will do with the financial benefits they are going to derive from the deal.
Some football players miss clearcut chances in crucial cup finals because they will be imagining themselves being the headline news in the papers the following day instead of focusing on the immediate task at hand — scoring!
Some people even go to the extent of throwing parties before their deals have been concluded (kuvhima nemunyu muhomwe).
I have attended parties for deals that failed the last minute though I have not been able to establish where the snaps occurred.
One thing for sure is most people have no mental strength to keep the excitement in check or to maintain composure until such a time when the deal has been concluded.
In most cases emotions throw them off balance and at times leads to lapse in concentration. This can be disastrous as demonstrated when the bass slipped from Joy’s hands while he was celebrating the catch. He lost his composure and the fish. Most people lose when they celebrate before they have tied up all the loose ends.
Some lose good business deals because when businesses grow, most entrepreneurs (due to emotions or inflated egos) start focusing on areas that are not closely related to the original intentions of their businesses.
Some start focusing on hobbies such as politics, sports or any other ego inflating activities.
How to develop staff with big deals
temperament
All of us are born without the ability to take composure when executing big deals. This skill is acquired over time. It is imperative to counsel your staff to appreciate that even if they failed to perform on their previous assignments, they can still perform in the future.
Drogba’s match-winning performance for Chelsea in the Champions League match against Bayern Munich came on the back of some disappointments. Earlier in the year Drogba had failed to convert a penalty in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals when his was playing for his country Cote d’Ivoire.
Despite the miss he was brave enough to take the penalty for his club which he converted to earn his club the prestigious silverware. Each game or deal must be treated separately.
Staff members must be taught not to despair even if all “odds seem to be against them”.
Allow staff members to be mentored by other senior staff members or friends who have had experiences elsewhere in handling big deals.
It is encouraged to give exposure to your junior staff members by co-opting them into teams, which will be handling difficult assignments. At times people succeed in the future by experiencing tough assignments in the present.
Though it is risky, once in a while junior staff must be thrown in the deep end so that they can learn quickly.
This strategy requires strong leadership to direct as well as to counsel the employees should the deal go wrong.
Staff members learn faster through practice than theory. With a lot of coaching and ambition, some members of staff can develop the “big deal temperament” which is crucial in achieving competitive advantage for your company.