I have been watching an interesting example over the last few years of how this old saying can be patently false.
The case in point is Junior Soccer. The emphasis is on participation,
not on winning. The idea is to try and make the game fun for everyone,
a goal that is logically worth chasing.
However, it falls down at implementation (as do so many strategies).
The emphasis being promoted is for everyone to have a turn at every position on the field and every activity. The goalies swap around at half time; everyone gets a turn. Goal kicks and corner kicks are shared around as evenly as possible. Being an attacker or a defender or midfielder is also shared around.
In theory.
Some teams that our kids have come up against have been well oiled machines that not only have dedicated goal keepers and everyone else playing in fixed positions but also have specialist corner kick takers! They absolutely hammer the other teams, usually by scores of15 or 20 nil! How much fun is that for the losing team?
So someone is ignoring the rules. It’s great having these rules, but when a team of kids keeps losing week in and week out to other teams who have not followed the intent of the strategy, then the system fails.
What problem were they trying to solve? Are the soccer authorities trying to ensure everyone gets a fair go? If so, then the strategy is flawed. Are they trying to keep more kids involved in the game so good talent is not lost? If so, they have missed the boat.
I believe it is an impossible strategy to begin with. The kids (and
parents) have far and away the most fun when they score a goal. The excitement of the kids is contagious and effusive. After all, the whole focus of the game is to get a ball into the other team’s goal.
It is a GAME. And a game is a contest. People (especially kids) are happiest when they are winning.
So you cannot blame the coach (99.999% of the time they are a parent of one of the kids) for trying to help them win. The look of elation on one of your kid’s faces is one of the most powerful drugs known.
How can you fight that? Should you fight that, or should you channel it?
So, what is the point of all this? Essentially, trying to promote a strategy that runs against the grain of human emotion is almost certain to fail.
LOGIC makes people think. EMOTION makes them ACT.
The participation strategy of everyone having a turn is a LOGICAL strategy that is in direct conflict with the EMOTION of winning.
In business or in life, the EMOTIONAL driver will win out over logic every time.
Any first class debater will drive home emotional points to win the day.
Political parties use FEAR or GREED to influence the public vote, and nothing else. We all know it, but we still vote with our emotions most of the time. We vote based on what is in our own or our family’s best interests - which are emotional drivers).
Whenever you develop your business strategies or plans, by all means use logic to formulate them, but make sure they appeal to the emotions of the people you want to influence or include.
It just won’t get done otherwise. | 
