What can Businesses learn from World Cup Cricket 2023? – ETCFO

During the last six weeks, the cricket World Cup was the most talked-about and watched spectacle in India. Cricket has a massive global fan following of 2.5 billion, second only to football, with ever-swelling TV revenue. It is played in 87 countries. Even the Olympics could not ignore the keen interest, including it in the 2028 edition, giving business and sports a bonanza.

In fact, the cricket world-cup has thrown in a lot of lessons for business folks. Let us look at some of the key learnings.

1. Accept risks and unpredictability as unavoidable: India had a dream run to win ten continuous matches. Just the last match was left to be conquered. The unofficial bookies were betting heavily in favour of India while playing the final against Australia, whom they had already beaten in the preliminary matches. But the result turned out to be just the reverse. On the final day, India succumbed rather tamely. The near unforeseeable happened: India lost in the final!

Business scenarios are similar. From where the situations could change, no one can predict. Take the climate change instances of late. During the recent 2023 summer, the climate change effects have been mammoth heat waves, floods, wildfires, droughts, heavy rains, extreme storms had cropped up almost everywhere. Most of the havoc created was not predicted. Whatever business you could be in, risks and uncertainties are the order of the day.

2. Superiority does not result in winning: India was clearly a superior team throughout the tournament. They beat the hell out of most teams as Team India bulldozed one after another during the round-robin and the knockout stages. They inflicted one of the heaviest crushing of the ex-World Champions Sri Lankan team. In fact, its Sports Minister was so angry with the outcome he sacked the entire national cricket board. But, in the end, Australia won, which had, in fact, lost 2 of the 10 matches played before the finals. They were clearly not a superior team but took
the winners trophy.

This is also true in the real world. I feel that the world’s best car manufacturers are the Mercedes and BMW of Germany. But they are not the top 5 players in the auto world. You will argue that they focus on niche products, but that’s untrue. These companies tried with smaller and cheaper varieties and tried to outsmart the largest car companies like Volkswagen and Toyota, but without much success. Superior products did not lead to the Merc or BMW grab the winner’s tag. Several reasons can be attributed, including not-so-world-class financial
management, inappropriate working capital control, lack of top-notch cost consciousness, and inadequate sharp marketing. It takes more than superior health to win any race.

3. Psych your opponents: Imagine how Australia could beat the formidable Indian team. Indian players believed that they were invincible. Australia worked for hours to view the video recordings on the weaknesses of the Indian batters and how each Indian bowler bowls. Indian players took it rather lightly and easily. The Aussies played psychological game, making the Indian team believe that Australia is easily beatable, but the truth was something else.

Have you noticed in business that a competitor suddenly poaches a key man, perhaps the head of R&D? This destabilizes the earlier employer. The ex-employer wouldn’t know how many formulations and future plans its ex-employee would have stolen and handed over to the competitor. This is very unnerving. Forget about new formulas; the competitor is playing a psycho game to outwit its competition. It has happened at least twice in my life while managing manufacturing outfits. You may have encountered similar mental games, too.

4. Confidence and belief are key: The reigning World Cup ODI champion team – England – finished almost at the bottom of the table. Their rock bottom moment was when they lost to the cricket minnows, Afghanistan by 69 runs and by 8 wickets to the struggling Sri Lankan team. What’s the reason? Lack of confidence and belief is the key cause,
blamed the former England captain Eoin Morgan. Can you believe that just about a month ago, the English team had beaten New Zealand 3-1, but yet the team’s performance has been disastrous! Teams must be relaxed and confident for a side to play well. The English team management kept chopping and changing. When confidence gets
knocked, you need to be reassured.

In business, the story is similar. You are aware that 7 out of 10 startups are unsuccessful. If you go for a deep dive into these unsuccessful ones, you would generally notice that it boils down to their doubting self- belief about the business plan they are dealing with. They would themselves not be fully confident in implementing what they have
started with. And this is the problem in most struggling businesses.

5. Silos kill: This World Cup did not have the Calypso Kings, the West Indies playing. The cricket world cup without its ex-Champions is unthinkable. The team lost during the qualifying games, even to the minnows like the
Netherlands, Scotland, and Zimbabwe. Why this pathetic situation? The reasons are plenty. But the profound one is that the players preferred playing T20 leagues worldwide to enrich themselves rather than practicing for the ODI World Cup. The players were individually brilliant to be invited by many teams to slog on their behalf, but they failed to practice as a team for the 50-over ODIs. The silo approach cost them dearly.

This compartmentalized phenomenon, resulting in the lack of sharing information with team members, is rather common in the corporate world. You may have noticed often that the left hand will not know what the right hand is doing. The manufacturing team may not know what the R&D team is formulating, or the R&D team may not know what the Sales team is looking for in customer satisfaction. The Silo approach is a recipe for corporate disaster.

Few last words

Cricket in India is a money spinner. Even Saudi Arabia wants to invest over $5 billion stake in the Indian Premier League, international cricket’s most lucrative event. After golf and football, cricket for Saudi Arabia is the next sports haven to make good money – and that’s a crucial learning.

Team games like cricket teach a lot. While the whole of India is lamenting the eventual outcome (India not winning the cup), we should not miss the lessons the spectacle has taught the business world. Business success, after all, is
about being customer-focused, diligent, patient, ethical, and using common sense that is uncommon. This World Cup cricket, as in most other group games, demonstrates exactly that.

About the Author: Robin Banerjee is the Chairman of Nucleon Research Pvt Ltd, a global clinical research company. Earlier, he served as the Managing Director of Caprihans India Ltd. Robin has authored 3 bestselling business nonfiction books: (i) Who Cheats and How; (ii) Who Blunders and How; and (iii) Corporate Frauds: Bigger, Broader, Bolder.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the authors and ETCFO.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCFO.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.