“Looking over the ball,” what do you mean, Peter? The CFO at the Finnish multinational had never heard of this expression before. Was absolutely no fan of football either 😉 “During an ice hockey game, don’t players also have to look over the puck?” was my attempt at a connection. “Aha, now it’s becoming clearer to me,” said the CFO. “But ice hockey is so much faster than your football…” How many people in a company/organization can really ‘look over the ball’ well? What exactly is ‘looking over the ball’ and why is it important? We all know (I hope..) Johan Cruyff. Click here for the full article..

“Looking over the ball,” what do you mean, Peter?

The CFO at the Finnish multinational had never heard of this expression before. Was absolutely no fan of football either 😉

“During an ice hockey game, don’t players also have to look over the puck?” was my attempt for connection.

“Aha, now it’s becoming clearer to me,” said the CFO. “But ice hockey is so much faster than your football…”

How many people in a company/organization can really ‘look over the ball’? What exactly is ‘looking over the ball’ and why is it important?

We all know (I hope…) Johan Cruyff. How often have we seen Johan Cruyff looking across the field with the ball held tightly at his feet, in full motion. So, not staring intently at the ball at his feet, but possessing enough technique while knowing that the ball at his feet is merely a part of a larger whole, namely: how can I make this moment functional for the bigger picture, the teammates, the team, the interplay, the match strategy, winning, and the development of the team.

How do we do this in a company?

Over the past 17 years, I have had the privilege of working with many companies on Strategic Team Processes and collaborating with many people. Conclusion: this is a major challenge.

Most people think and act from the perspective of their own department, BU, interests, and discipline. This is logical, too, because that is what they are good at and feel comfortable with. But developing a company strategically on solid ground with effective implementation requires precisely people who can look beyond their own ball.

And looking is not enough. They must possess the right integrated and strategic knowledge and skills to develop a company strategically together. In the Strategic Team Process, we develop people to look beyond the ball more effectively, provide them with a shared, integrated strategic language using the right, innovative, and pragmatic methodologies and exercises for better results.

Following the Scandinavian model: relevant added value, collaboration, alignment, people development, greater ownership, and concrete implementation.

Interested in creating relevant added value for the company together? Contact us via info@pjstrategy.com