Are You In Position For Greatness Realized
by Chris Copeland ~ December 2nd, 2010 |
On Nov. 6 I stood, along with 72,000 others, and screamed, then stared in disbelief as a once-in-a-generation thoroughbred race horse named Zenyatta attempted to have her greatness realized. Zenyatta, a six-year-old mare, came to the hallowed Churchill Downs for the 2010 Breeders Cup, the de facto All Star races to determine the best of the best, in horse racing. Never before in her previous 19 starts had the massive horse tasted defeat, and in this, her final race, she stood a mere two minutes from the kind of greatness that surpasses the momentary and transcends generations.
The race played out like every other Zenyatta race, with her in the very back and a mad dash down the home stretch to reach the finish line. Yet on this day, a horse by the name of Blame found his own moment of greatness. Running on his home track, he found the kind of outcome that few in the crowd — and fewer watching around the world — had expected.
On the four-hour drive home with my long-time gambling partner, we discussed the outcome, what could have been, and the emotions of the moment. Over dinner I suggested that what we came within a head bob of seeing was greatness realized. That got me thinking about what happens in our business every day that puts us in a position to do just that. A lot of coverage leading up to the event had dissected what it took to bring Zenyatta to this moment, and it’s clear that whether it’s a race horse or a business, many of the same elements go in to achieving greatness.
It’s safe to say that preparation and people are key components in any successful endeavor. There are few instances where someone has enough talent or resources to simply show up without doing the work – and win. Likewise, the person who wins an award is rarely an individual with no support system. Even in individual endeavors, be it an election or solo sport, you will always find a network of talent behind the face that contributes to the outcome.
Our business continues to undergo seismic changes that require constant evolution. When I started in this business it was a very loose collection of stand-alone companies trying to form an industry on the back of relationships and business deals. The potential was unknown, but there was a linked energy between the effort and the reward. No one knew quite what to expect, but they were committed to the race because they felt a passion for it. Continue reading >>
I can comfortably go into any running race and be very confident that I am not going to win. In the running world, I qualify as what is termed a 
