Daily Inspiration: “Every day begins just like a par-3 over water. Full of opportunity with potential for disaster!”

“Every day begins just like a par-3 over water. Full of opportunity with potential for disaster! But there’s always the next hole!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

It’s summertime! And with that, some folks are busy challenging themselves with the world’s oldest game.

I started late in life, and at one time, had big psychological problems with liquid fairways. Then, I managed to make them go away. As some of my good friends know, it’s not often that I must go have a time out on the ‘Bench of Shame’ on #12 

This photo comes from the 2nd keynote I gave for the @pga on opportunities for innovation to grow the game of golf. There was so much unique insight that I developed and shared for these keynotes that I’ve actually rolled them out into a separate speaking topic,“Driving the Future – Linking the Acceleration of Golf to The Speed of Business.”

https://golf.jimcarroll.com

Why is golf the perfect metaphor for leadership and innovation? Because it provides a great storyline – the game of golf involves the perfect combination of creativity, insight and innovative thinking. I’m now a 16 handicap, and I’ll often use the sport as a metaphor for leadership insight.

Think about what is happening around the world of golf. 

It’s a world that involves the 3D printing of customized golf clubs perfectly matched to a players stance. Course tee time yield management systems that now rival in sophistication those of leading hotels and airlines. An industry in which GPS golf analysis technology such as GameGolf, fast-moving golf entertainment complexes such as TopGolf, and smart clothing technologies are leading the game to new opportunities for growth. 

One in social media posts involving Instagram stars and Youtube clips are leading to accelerated interest in the game. 

As I’ll note on stage, “forget the idea of golf being a slow moving, traditional game — it is being disrupted to its core and is being positioned for growth through a relentless drive for innovation and high velocity trends.”

And, sometimes, it involves liquid fairways that you need to convince yourself are simply not there.