Lessons from Tiger Woods

In: BlogDate: Jun 25, 2013By: Henry Stewart

In 2009, Fortune magazine asked Tiger Woods, among others, for the ‘best advice I ever got’. The replies were often very interesting.

This blog looks at the advice Tiger Woods was given and why it was so enlightening for him.

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‘When I was young, maybe six or seven years old, I’d play on the Navy golf course with my pop. My dad would say, “Okay, where do you want to hit the ball?” I’d pick a spot and say I want to hit it there. He’d shrug and say, “Fine, then figure out how to do it.” He didn’t position my arm, adjust my feet, or change my thinking. He just said go ahead and hit the darn ball.’

I think there is something profound here about how to help a talented individual develop. Let’s translate it into management speak.

When you sit down with one of your people to plan their development, get them to set their own objective. Then ask them to figure out how to achieve it. Don’t tell them how to do it, let them work out their own way – with your support.

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Henry Stewart, Founder and Chief Happiness Officer

Henry is founder and Chief Happiness Officer of Happy Ltd, originally set up as Happy Computers in 1987. Inspired by Ricardo Semler’s book Maverick, he has built a company which has won multiple awards for some of the best customer service in the country and being one of the UK’s best places to work.

Henry was listed in the Guru Radar of the Thinkers 50 list of the most influential management thinkers in the world. "He is one of the thinkers who we believe will shape the future of business," explained list compiler Stuart Crainer.

His first book, Relax, was published in 2009. His second book, the Happy Manifesto, was published in 2013 and was short-listed for Business Book of the Year.

You can find Henry on LinkedIn and follow @happyhenry on Twitter.

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