Comment by BVAA CEO Rob Bartlett

We’ve been back working in BVAA HQ some time now, but pretty soon, God willing, we’ll all be returning to our offices and the new normal.

For some, having spent so much time alone, this is going to be pretty overwhelming.

We are inveterate plate-spinners at BVAA. Ask anyone here, and they’ll tell you the most enjoyable aspect of the job is the constant variety. I’ll be engaging with a journalist one minute, a chamber of commerce the next, a member, a supplier, a team member, an industry customer (and that’s just this morning!) – the topics are innumerable and it really is invigorating!

Even so, when marooned at home, the metaphorical revolving door to my office never span, there were far fewer impromptu questions, no incessant phone ringing. I was permitted more extended episodes of uninterrupted time than ever before.  I was able to focus, concentrate on the job in hand, and then move on to the next. It was refreshing.

Given that we were having to focus on completely new issues like Brexit implications, ever-changing Covid guidance, and switching services to the online and intangible, it was also frankly necessary.

On return however, we flipped back almost immediately. Comraderie aside, it was quite a shock. To be suddenly surrounded by people for a start. A bombardment of issues to tackle and everything and everyone apparently at the top of the priority list.

I was very interested therefore to hear the thoughts of a sports psychologist on the radio, talking about a famous golfer, struggling with his game.  The gist was that the way back from the ‘yips’ into the groove for him was to break the problem down into manageable pieces and focus only in the moment. Or as the psychologist put it, ‘hit it, find it, hit it again’.

Ludicrously simple. Yet ingeniously so. 

If, like us, you have the plate spinning game to contend with, this philosophy could really help.  A management consultant out there will be spouting ‘bandwith’ or some such right now I’m sure. 

But there is great solace and satisfaction to be had in concentrating on a job without distraction, nailing it, and moving onto the next.

With my golf though, hitting the darn thing in the first place is the issue.

Published: 25th May 2021