Solving Problems in Professional Sport.

It's no good coming up with a great solution to the wrong problem.

By Wayne Goldsmith

Solving the wrong problem:

Professional football teams have one consistent problem - they’re brilliant at solving the wrong things.

If culture is your issue - buying new players will not fix it.

If there’s political turmoil behind the scenes - building a new training centre will not fix it.

If the squad is fractured - what I call a Team Within a Team (TWAT) - sacking the coach will not fix it.

After 30 years working in this business, the most important lesson I’ve learnt is this: It’s no good coming up with a great solution to the WRONG PROBLEM.

Open your eyes:

Want to know what’s actually happening in your team?

You don’t need a $50,000 culture consultant.

You don’t need another 360 review.

You need to watch.

• When they score - do all the players rush to the scorer and celebrate together?

• When a player makes an error - do teammates rush in to support and reset to NEXT and NOW?

• When the coach speaks - do players lean in, or check their phones?

• When training ends - do they leave together, or in cliques?

The answers are right there if you’re willing to look.

The art of high performance sport:

The art of high performance sport is not coming up with solutions.

Every solution to every problem in sport is on your phone.

Free. In 30 seconds or less.

Coaching books.

Sports science papers.

Culture frameworks.

Leadership models.

Performance theories.

All of it. Every solution known to humanity is available on your smart device, right now, anywhere, anytime and usually for free.

The real art is two things:

1. Figuring out what the actual problem actually is.

2. Having the guts and determination to fix it.

That’s it. That’s the whole game at the elite level.

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And if your organisation is working out what to actually fix - I do this for a living. Get in touch: wayne@moregold.com.au*