The high cost of not knowing the rules …

I’m not a big sports fan (although I am a fan of great coaches) … but the story of Dustin Johnson’s penalty that kept him out of a playoff for the PGA Championship is interesting on a variety of levels that directly relate to you and your business.

If you don’t follow sports (or golf) … you probably don’t know that golf is a sport steeped in tradition and a set of simple, but closely followed rules …

And those rules are all based on that tradition and the honesty and integrity of the players involved.

Johnson was leading the PGA Championship (the final of four of golf’s “Major” championships) until the last hole of the tournament, when he drove his ball far to the right of the fairway, landing it in a dusty cutout in the side of a hill.

Wading in among the crowd, Johnson addressed his ball in his normal routine and hit his shot, landing the ball near the green.

He took another shot to get to the green then missed a putt to put him into a three-way tie for the lead … forcing a three-hole playoff with two other golfers.

Unfortunately, as he walked off the 18th green, a PGA official walked up to inform Johnson that he had actually incurred a penalty on the hole, because when he hit the ball from the patch of dirt, that patch was actually a bunker.

With any bunker shot, if a golfer rests his or her club on the ground before hitting the shot out of the bunker, the player is penalized.

In Johnson’s case it was a two stroke penalty … enough to knock him out of the playoff, and into fifth place in the tournament.

A little more context is also worthwhile here …

The tournament was played in Wisconsin at a course called Whistling Straits … a demanding course featuring more than 1,000 bunkers scattered all across its layout.

Because of so many bunkers, all golfers were told to be aware that any patch of dirt they encountered during play would be considered a bunker … so they couldn’t in turn “ground” their clubs.

Asked if he knew or read the rule sheet given to all golfers before the tourney and every day of the championship, Johnson said he “didn’t look at it.”

“I only look at it if I thought I have a reason to,” he admitted.  “And I didn’t think I had a reason to.”

Now … back to business (so to speak).

What are some “rules of the game” in business (and in your own company) … that you may not know, or that you may be ignoring?

Are you “playing” in a challenging environment where any loss of focus, any lack of knowledge or any “mistake” could cost you your own “championship”?

Last week, I outlined my “5 Keys to Marketing.”

While not fool-proof my any means, they are some general guidelines to help turn your marketing expenses into true investments.

That said … are you selling what people want to buy? Or what you think they want to own?

Do you test and measure activities in your business?

Do you know your numbers?

If you are in an industry where profit margins are thin and you need to compete on volume, the “rule” for getting out of that seemingly endless cycle of commoditization, discounting and price competition is to add value and find ways to innovatively use your product to solve new (or even existing, but not yet recognized) problems.

If you are in an industry where you are the leader, the “rule” is to continue to innovate and find ways to systematically increase your profit margins … gaining ever more “wallet” share of your current customers (while your competition works to play the discount game to gain market share).

If you are struggling to profit, the “rule” is you need to “learn before you earn.”

This may mean learning more about your competition or (more likely) the wants and needs of your own customers … to better give them more of what they really want.

It could also mean learning more about business, or how to better hold yourself accountable to results, or what business you could get in that is a better fit for your talents, interests, skills and abilities.

If you are succeeding, the “rule” is you need to continue to grow and profit and expand your knowledge, skills and learning, or else you and your company will soon stagnate and wither.

In the end, Johnson handled his mistake with grace … but he’ll no doubt will feel the sting of his oversight for years to come.

So … if you don’t know the rules, find out what they are and make sure you follow them.

That way, you’ll be in a far better position to play and win, especially when faced with your own version of a championship bunker shot.

Jodie Shaw