Back when I was dealing with the IHL, one of the differentiations between an NHL goalie and an IHL goalie was the ability to handle having a goal scored on them. More than a few of the goalies who looked oh so promising, but never made it for long the NHL would think too much and too long about the goal that was just scored, which usually meant they'd get another scored on them within a minute or so. So, instead of being down by one goal, the team now had to deal with a two goal deficit. And the difference between a goalie with a 2.50 GAA and a 3.00 GAA can be measured in the hundreds of thousands of dollars--especially if the goalie had a rep for letting a "softie" in after the first goal.
How does this apply to business?
When you're in crisis mode, it generally doesn't pay to dwell that long and hard about a specific event, and how you could have prevented it while everything is hitting the fan. If you're not actively in the mode of dealing with the "pucks" as they come at you, you're going to let the next "oh shit" moment nail you before you have a chance to stop it. Get the triage going, and review those "game tapes" after the crisis has ended.
Posted by lsefton at October 8, 2003 01:02 PM