If you're a golf fan then you know that this week is The Masters tournament, one of the four big majors in the sport. I will be watching Tiger Woods closely. He's one of my biggest heroes. Not only does he have tremendous talent but he's driven to continually improve.
Recently, I picked up a great new book called Tiger Traits by Dr. Nate Booth. The premise is that you can learn a lot about success by studying arguably the greatest golfer who ever lived. However, as I dug into the nine secrets outlined in the book, I saw a lot of applicability for people who aspire to ascend in the Web 2.0 world.
Here's a closer look at the nine traits through a Web 2.0 lens. They are valuable not only for individuals, but also marketers who what to stay relevant in this chaotic environment as well as startups that are competing in a flat world where anyone can eat your lunch.
Identify and Develop Natural Talents
Tiger's talents for golf emerged early and is the stuff of legends. He started swinging a club at a very young age. If you want to become an online influencer (yes, corporate types too), you need to zero in on your talent. If you think about it, there are very few individuals who rise to prominence in more than one Web 2.0 galaxy. The more popular bloggers, for example, do not achieve the same level of success in say podcasting. The top diggers? Most of them write blogs you never heard of. Pick your spots and play to your strengths.
Create a Clear and Compelling Dream
What's your dream? Tiger's dream is to win more majors than Jack Nicklaus, who currently holds the record with 18 (Tiger has 10). My dream is that the chaos caused by new media will propel PR to become the lead marketing discipline. That's what drives me to blog. If you're creating content actively, make sure your passions come through.
Select Teachers, Heroes, and Teammates Who Guide, Inspire, and Support
Woods has a cadre of people who guide him in his game, personal life as well as his business affairs. It's commonly known as Team Tiger. Create a personal "board of directors" who help guide you. Mine includes my co-workers, family and also online influencers like Ross Mayfield, Robert Scoble, Dave Winer and others.
Be Confident
Tiger Woods plays to win and he's confident that he always will, even if he's down by a lot. I'm not always the most confident guy in everything I do, but when I blog I am. Most people who are opinion leaders online are extremely confident (sometimes too much so!). When you blog, podcast, digg, create online video, be proud of what you do. Stake your reputation on it and others will follow you.
Manufacture Magnificent Mental Models
If you want to succeed in any activity - be it personal or business - you need to be able to "find your zone" to win. Tiger is known for having incredible powers of concentration. This can be tough at times. There are lots of distractions and detractors. Still, if you figure out what to tune in and what to tune out, you will succeed. Skip the gossip. Unsubscribe from the blogs that do nothing but spew smoke. Frown on distractions.
Let Actions Do the Talking
Tiger wins and that's all we need to know that he is a leader. The same applies online. Focus on your craft and your expertise. Don't obsess over your stats or Technorati ranking. Know what you cover and what you don't. Then, stick to it, create good
content, do so consistently and often and you will succeed. The cream
rises to the top. You will become known if you let your actions do the talking, rather than trash talking. The same applies for brands.
Constantly Improve in Good Times
The minute you stop improving, you're dead. This is why if you're in PR or marketing, you have to be dabbling with new technology constantly. After all, your customers are. Further, if you're blogging, constantly look for ways to improve. Don't take anything for granted. The same applies in business too. Tiger overhauled his swing twice in his career, even though he was at the top of his game.
Be Likeable, Be Grateful, Give Back
This one is huge. Sometimes people who become "web famous" forget where they came from. Companies get arrogant too. Everyone started at the same point. You have to give back if you want to succeed. Scoble, for example, constantly links to new voices and he's a downright approachable guy who puts his phone number on his blog. Tiger Woods will probably become the first sports billionaire soon, but he always gives of his time and money. That's a valuable lesson for every individual and company.
