Nothing Left to Lose!

The first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament is a sports junkie's dream. For 96 hours, 32 games are played where anything and everything can happen. Just ask the men of the University of Kansas. They were the best team in America according to every poll and now they sit and watch. Murray State and Michigan State have won games at the buzzer. This is sports at its finest.

In my mind, no team has been more impressive than Cornell from the Ivy League. Typically, the Ivy League sends their champ to be a sacrificial lamb for a big school on their way to the final four. This year, Cornell dominated their opponents with a 27-4 record. On Friday, they whipped Temple and did the same on Sunday to Wisconsin (Big Ten). Next stop, Kentucky on Thursday night. I suspect teams like Cornell feel like they are playing with house money. They have nothing to lose. They have already gone much further than anyone thought. Now, they play on the national stage against one of the great basketball programs in the country. Expectations are low and their intensity will be high.

This reminds me of start up organizations. While their owners have a lot to lose, they're not given much credit (initially) in the marketplace. The organization is intensely focused on product launches, sales and effectively utilizing cash (or at least should be). It is hard to keep this intensity for long and soon process and ritual take over. Many organizations would be better off having the entrepreneurial mentality and going for broke. Most organizations settle into a certain pace where ultimately, mediocrity is the standard.

When making a decision this week, figure out how to light a fire under your organization and play like you have nothing left to lose.