Practice. But Make it Deliberate.
I’ve always been honest about the initial Spartan launch—my team and I didn’t write an in-depth business plan or make assumptions about what the company would look like in a few weeks, months, or years.
Instead, we just got to work.
We put in long hours. We reached out to partners whose messages resonated with ours. We tried different approaches and different strategies—some worked and some didn’t. We didn’t think about it. We just did it.
And we did it all with purpose.
Deliberate Practice: Take Action and Adjust
Sitting around and planning out the “perfect” strategy or coming up with the ideal business plan is dangerous. If you sit and think and discuss and plan too long, it creates inertia. You won’t get anything done.
I agree with the philosophy of making many pots—in practicing a skill so relentlessly that you become an expert through dedicated time, hard work, multiple attempts, and making mistakes.
A journalist once called Joe DiMaggio a “natural” hitter. Immediately, DiMaggio walked the reporter downstairs to reveal his practice space, where he kept tally marks of his efforts. Kobe Bryant wouldn’t end a conditioning session once until he made 800 jump shots.
These famous athletes doggedly practiced specific skills—over and over again—until they built up muscle memory and resilience.
If you want to know the truth—the greats aren’t naturals. The greats achieve success through purposeful, deliberate practice.
The same is true in business. You can always tweak your game or adjust your strategy in the field. The market will give you the feedback you need to recalibrate and make adjustments.
How to Practice Deliberately
Set practice time and stick to it. In order to be deliberate about practicing your skills or working towards your goals, you have to make time. You have to block out your calendar, ignore the distractions, and get to work.
Set goals for each session. Instead of always being focused on your end result, set smaller, meaningful goals for each practice session—and DON’T STOP practicing until you achieve them. Before you know it, those small accomplishments will add up to massive achievements.
Analyze your failures. As you practice, make sure to block out time to analyze the results. There’s a reason why professional athletes review game tapes as part of their training. Taking the time to ask yourself why something went wrong, or to figure out what didn’t work is a valuable habit that will help you be deliberate about where to focus your energy.
