My boys and I have been enjoying some of the March Madness basketball games the last couple of weeks. Sunday night, we watched 11th seed UCLA beat 2 seed Alabama to go to the Elite 8.
Alabama had the better team. In fact, they were favored by 6.5 points.
So what cost them the game? Boring old free throws.
UCLA shot 25 free throws and made 20 of them.
Alabama also shot 25 free throws… and only made 11.
Even the incredible buzzer-beater Alabama sank to send the game into overtime couldn’t help them overcome their pathetic performance from the foul line.
There are a few lessons you can take away from this, but I was reminded of one of my favorite maxims:
Do the boring work.
You know what’s cool? 3-point jump shots. No-look passes. Alley-oop dunks.
You know what’s boring as heck? Free throws.
But free throws are why the 11-seed team beat the 2-seed.
How do you make free throws? You do the boring work and practice them over… and over… and over.
Same reason my tee ball team – The Rockies – has won their first 2 games. (Let’s go!)
Because we practice the most boring aspect of baseball – base running – every. Single. Practice.
Running. In a square. Over and over and over. Boring.
Hitting? Awesome. Running? Boring.
Snagging fly balls? Fancy! Running? Snooze fest.
Want the exciting wins? Do the boring work.
What does that mean for you in your practice?
Well, there’s definitely a lesson about practicing here. For example, if your sales team isn’t doing the boring work of role playing their convos with prospects – and 99 out of 100 of them aren’t – you’re leaving thousands of dollars on the table every day.
There’s also a lesson about the extraordinary being rooted in consistency. The boring things – done consistently – make all the difference.
Greeting EVERY patient at the front desk. Guiding EVERY prospect on the phone. Doing EVERY followup of your non-converted leads. Asking EVERY happy patient for a review.
None of these activities are particularly novel or exciting. Some might even describe them as boring.
But the surgeons who ensure their teams are doing the boring work consistently… they are the ones spending more time in their surgery suites each month, doing more surgeries and stacking cash.
Don’t be the high-ranking team that loses like Alabama. Take a look at your practice and where you need to be more consistent with the boring work.
And if you want a systematic, paint-by-numbers way to grow your volume that’s rooted in simple, boring work… our Patient Prime System may be for you. Reply for more info.
And remember: if you want exciting wins, do the boring work.
Troy “Do Boring, Don’t Be Boring” Cole