Why you should #Look4Leverage & #PlayToYourStrengths & #NeverBoxABoxer

Imagine…

You are suddenly confronted by a person threatening you.

Their hands are in a boxing stance.

What SHOULDN’T you do?

You shouldn’t box them.

Why?

If they are in a proper boxing stance they are likely to be a boxer.

Boxing has only four basic strikes: jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts.

And boxers practice them a lot!

So if you aren’t a boxer, you won’t have much chance at boxing a boxer.

Hence the martial arts adage, #NeverBoxABoxer.

Because if you do so, you are not following the #MartialArtsPrinciple of #PlayingToYourStrengths.

Instead you need to apply a related #MartialArtsPrinciple – #Look4Leverage.

Better to fight at distance, with low kicks.

The boxer is in white; I am in black.

Or to be close up and grapple.

Business applications

It’s a bit like using your competitive edge in business.

You need to identify it and to use it. #PlayToYourStrengths.

You can’t compete on price, against a Lidl or a McDonalds.

You do need to identify your strengths and to compete on something else that adds value, like:

• Quality;
• Service;
• Experience; or
• Innovation.

I once asked a long term client what he liked about my consultancy services. He replied:

“What I like about you Mike is that you always give me your advice, even when I don’t request it. But you never mind when I ignore it.”

#Simplify

And once you have established your strengths, you need to explain them simply.

And then, hopefully you will be distinct, not extinct.

Image one is from Wikipedia, of the October 30 1974 fight – The Rumble In The Jungle. Mohammed Ali  “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” –  was fast and powerful. 

Image two is the Author kicking,Joe Macquire a boxer, taken by Tony Laliashvili.

Jamie Douglass, my previous krav maga instructor, suggested the boxing analogy.

Please feel free contact me, to discuss or comment this post. You can contact me here:

mike@barnato.com

@MikeBarnato

mikebarnato.wordpress.com

#MMAMike