Hole #18
Winning Your Eighteenth Hole
Par 5 • 512 Yards
What happens on the eighteenth hole can change the final outcome of a typical round of golf or determine the winner of a major PGA tournament. Everything seems to come down to this single critical hole; it can force a tied match into Sudden Death, in which play continues until a clear victor emerges. Champions learn how to sustain their effort and maintain their focus throughout this gut-wrenching but crucial period.
You might be admirably meeting the requirements of the customer for seventeen holes, but if your performance is poor on the final hole, you can lose it all. Producing a product that meets 100% of a customer’s needs won’t do any good if you ship it out late and cause your customer costly delays down the line. Doing things 99% right is not good enough, particularly if that one percent that isn’t met creates major problems for the customer.
As a leader, manager, or owner, what is your “eighteenth hole”? Are you doing almost everything right, and forgetting about final details that are critical to your overall management efforts? How can you sustain excellent management for all eighteen holes? Good leaders and good golfers have a strategy for maintaining good performance all the way to the final moments of the game—and then some.
Scorecard
WINNING YOUR EIGHTEENTH HOLE
Hole #18 • Par 5
Player:
Directions: Circle “Yes” or “No” for each question.
And don’t be too easy on yourself. Be as truthful as you can.
Do you sustain your efforts for all eighteen holes?
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YES |
NO |
Are your customers 100% satisfied with the quality of your performance?
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YES |
NO |
Have you identified the critical aspects of your management process that can adversely impact all of your other efforts?
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YES |
NO |
Have you developed plans to make sure that you meet all of the requirements of your customers?
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YES |
NO |
Are you totally committed to meeting all of the requirements of your customers 100% of the time?
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YES |
NO |
Scoring key on back
YOUR EIGHTEENTH HOLE
Hole #18 • Par 5
Player:
Directions: Record your “score” for each question in the space provided.
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Do you sustain your efforts for all eighteen holes? |
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YES = 1 stroke |
NO = 2 strokes |
SCORE |
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Are your customers 100% satisfied with the quality of your performance? |
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YES = 1 stroke |
NO = 2 strokes |
SCORE |
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Have you identified the critical aspects of your management process that can adversely impact all of your other efforts? |
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YES = 1 stroke |
NO = 2 strokes |
SCORE |
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Have you developed plans to make sure that you meet all of the requirements of your customers? |
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YES = 1 stroke |
NO = 2 strokes |
SCORE |
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Are you totally committed to meeting all of the requirements of your customers 100% of the time? |
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YES = 1 stroke |
NO = 3 strokes |
SCORE |
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If you answered “YES” to at least four of the five questions on this hole, take (2) additional strokes off your Final Score. |
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If you answered “YES” to all five of these questions, take three (3) additional strokes from your Final Score. |
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TOTAL NUMBER OF STROKES |
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