If you have not read Part I of this blog series you can read it here. In case you are not as familiar with the Rocky movies as I am, here is a little recap of what happens at the end of Rocky. Rocky goes 15 rounds with Apollo Creed. Rocky's right eye is badly damaged and the peripheral vision in that eye is all but gone. At the end of the fight both Rocky and Apollo say there will not be a rematch.
Now on to Rocky II where we learn some important lessons about checking our egos at the door and never saying never.
Ego
Since Apollo was supposed to finish off Rocky in 3 rounds in their first fight, Apollo was getting abused in the media and receiving a ton of hate mail. Basically calling him a joke, washed up, etc. Apollo then started calling for a rematch with Rocky. Even though his trainers, managers, and family all thought it was a bad idea he kept pressing for a rematch. He wanted this rematch because of his ego not because it was the right thing to do.
As BAs we need to leave our egos at the "door" when working on projects. The project is not about us. Our goal is to do what is right for the project. If your mindset is focused on the project needs, the project will be a success and you will get recognition. Remember, it is not what the project can do for you, but what you can do for the project!
"There ain't no Can'ts"
A great line from the great manager Mickey Goldmill. Apollo pushed and pushed until Rocky and Mick finally agreed to the rematch. The problem was that Rocky's eye was so bad that he could not fight as Southpaw. Since his peripheral vision was so poor he would never see punches coming from Apollo until they were right on his face. So Mick was pushing Rocky to become a right-handed fighter. After a number of times with Rocky saying "I can't do it Mick", Mick yells back "there ain't no can'ts."
Every situation we encounter as BA's is slightly different. The project characteristics are different, the people we work with are different. We can not use the same techniques on every project we are on. Always try to learn new techniques and skills and never say "I can't do it Mick."
The next blog entry will be focusing on Rocky III where Rocky takes on Clubber Lang!
