Call the Audible More Often

I love American Football for the business and life lessons it can teach us.

In American Football, when the offensive team has the ball, the quarterback calls the play based on what he sees with the defense. If he does not like the match up of the play he just called with what the defensive formation is, he has an opportunity to call an ‘audible’.

An audible is a last second change of plans to allow the offence a higher probability of success. Audible’s are usually quite simple and involving only a few players to move with all players understanding what is about to happen in a matter of seconds.

Everyone has to adapt to the play for a higher probability of success.

I love audibles.

In life, there are many times I have had to call an audible and you will actually hear me refer to a last minute decision as ‘calling the audible’. It drives my partner crazy.

Audibles can be large or small, personal or professional and they can completely enhance your probability of success in a given situation.

Just last evening I was trying to decide which suit to wear. I was going to where my black suit when I called the audible last minute and went for my navy blue suit instead which I find to be my most comfortable and welcoming.

For the occasion it ended up being perfect.

When I don’t like the options on the table I tend to flip the table to see what use the other side can be.

For example, when I would facilitate a workshop I would often have to call small audibles if I was running out of time and still had an abundance of content to cover with the staff. It would be a series of small audibles that allowed the staff to get what they needed from the presentation without over budgeting their time.

Audibles are a great way to change the existing plan to find a win/win.

Personally, my fiancé and I were just about to travel to Sri Lanka for the Holidays. We had the plan mapped out and we had the time set aside for this amazing adventure. When things changed for us and our families in our personal lives, we decided to call the audible and to spend the Holiday season with our families.

I am all about developing and calculating a solid plan in all situations in life. However, sometimes you just have to make a series of last minute decisions to put yourself in a better situation with a higher probability of success.

This translates easily into business as well. In my upcoming book I talk about calling the audible professionally at the bargaining table and also about shifting messaging last minute to freshen up your messaging to stakeholders, partners and articulating your brand with the general public.

It is important to note that not all audibles are going to lead to success. They simply increase your probability of success. There is a difference.

For example, sometimes you make a last minute travel decision or a last minute business decision that just does not pan out the way you had hoped. Given the time sensitivity of needed in calling an audible, even the best calculations and logistical thinking combined with a higher probability of success does not match the outcome you had hoped for.

Perfect example, one month ago I had a conversation with a colleague about buying BITCOIN. I had done my research and thought it may be a good idea to invest in the leading Cryptocurrency. I had a couple conversations with some investors and decided I would hold off.

If I had of bought what I was going to buy for BITCOIN one month ago it would now be worth four times as much. It would have been a great investment. However, I called the last minute audible to hold off.

My encouragement for you today is this. Write the word “Audible” down on your fridge or inside your journal. The next time you have a key decision to make professionally or personally — give yourself permission to call the audible and to make the last minute creative, calculated decision.

We often think our plans cannot change once they are set but the opposite is true. In a fast paced, ever changing world we need to adapt and we need to constantly call audibles to achieve success and to reach our best life.

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This post was previously published on Medium.

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