Sundays Super Bowl was packed full of entertainment, excitement, and wouldn’t you know it Marketing and Sales lessons. The Cardinals down and out, late into the fourth quarter, with their backs against the wall, had to do something quick or the game was lost. So they went to the No Huddle Hurry up Offense. Immediately things changed and they snatched back the lead, racing toward certain victory.

I asked myself; why all of the sudden did the Cardinals begin to dominate the number one ranked defense in the league? I concluded that just like in life, when you take the bull by the horns and focus like there is no tomorrow, things get done.

The hurry up offense in football is like being on the end of a deadline. I call this “get it done yesterday mode”. At that point you dispense with fluff, excuses, and dead weight that slow you down. Your playbook of 200 plays becomes a select few; your pace heightens and your resolve seems to grow by leaps and bounds.

This is not a football thing but a life thing, because we all use the hurry up offense. Whether it is finishing a proposal in the 11^th hour, meeting a deadline, or just being fed up with a situation, we find moments where we explode with a focus and determination that gets things done. The Cardinals during their comeback reached that point, and just like in life when you decide to swing back the competition flinches and plays from its heals.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness this magical hurry up offense when our backs are not against the wall, and our neck is not on the line? What kind of difference would that make in our life, our business, in our marketing? …..HUGE!!!

So here is the drill:

1.       Set a business, marketing, sales, or any goal for that matter

2.       Create an opponent who gets in your way. The bigger, meaner, and unstoppable the better

3.       Set a deadline to accomplish your goal / task

4.       Create a play book to achieve your goal. Keep in mind your opponent and all the ways they will try to stop you

5.       Play the game and use your playbook to guide you toward your goal

At set intervals, maybe every other day or during a selected time period, put it into overdrive.  Imagine the opponent has your back against the wall, his foot on your neck, and it is do or die. In your mind think I have to get this done now, because there is no tomorrow.  Make it challenging, stretch yourself, and find a place where you are out of your comfort zone.

What I have found is that I get a hell of a lot more done when I am purposefully going into the hurry up offense mode. It is exhilarating, thrilling, and exhausting. One time I stayed up 47 hours straight to accomplish a goal I set. And here is the thing; the project was not due for two more weeks. It didn’t matter to my imaginary opponent, because he was bearing down on me, which meant I had to crank it up into hurry up mode. As a result I had two weeks to tweak, correct, and refine my work.

If you do it this way you can always lace up the cleats and give it another try. The other way works too, when our necks are actually on the line.  The difference is there are no do-overs, repeats, or second chances. For example, in the Super Bowl the Pittsburg Steelers proved too formidable. They went to their own hurry up offense and snatched victory away at the last minute. When the whistle blew signaling the end of the game, it was final and forever sketched in the record books. That sucks if you are the Cardinals, because had they a few more chances, redoes, or a mulligan they might have won.

So I implore you to find your motivated and spirited self that comes out in crunch time. Pull him out and match her against a worthy opponent. Stack the deck and play from behind like the game is on the line. You will find that victory will be yours long before the whistle blows, because your star player will be playing the whole game not just the final 2 minutes.