The Future Is the Next Ball

A note to young leaders.

The future is more interesting than the past.

I recently heard Ravi Shastri speak at the SCG. Ravi is a former Indian cricket player, coach and now TV commentator.

Someone in the audience asked him whom he rated most highly as a leader.

“MS Dhoni is the calmest cricketer I’ve ever coached. His secret was that he didn’t waste any emotional energy on the past – a dropped catch, a loose delivery, a run out.

What’s happened has happened. You may not like it but it can’t be changed.

His thinking was always on the next ball, only on the next ball.”

Under pressure, stay calm. Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.

The past is fixed. The future is flexible.

In the heat of battle – forget the past, focus only on the future.