Phil Mickelson boogied a critical hole in last round of the 2011 US Open. According to him in an interview on CNN in July, "because I was looking ahead and not focusing on the immediate task at hand."
According to PGAtour.com the difference in scoring between the #1 ranked golfer and #100 is an average stroke difference of less than 2 strokes!
How many tasks do you perform each day? How many tasks does an office of 10 perform each day...office of 1000? Are you and your people performing those tasks well? Meaning...are they tied to a business objective? Every task should be tied to an objective. Everyone performing those tasks should know which objective they impact. A poorly implemented task in Phil's case, cost him the objective of his team, to win the US Open.
The plan, or strategy was a team effort which involved his caddie, coach, Phil and others. Phil's specific task that altered the outcome of the objective was striking the ball. And as it turns out, the average stroke difference of 2 strokes can mean the difference between being #1 or #100. Therefore a very important task indeed!
Tasks are tied to plans and plans are tied to business objectives. Looking ahead...far ahead is the Vision which helps in establishing business objectives. Looking too far ahead when implementing a task could mean the difference between winning or loosing. Always know what state you should be focusing on, Vision, Strategy or Tactics. And remember, if it is a task...stick the pin within 2 feet!
