Jon Coker’s Post

Perfection is impossible. In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. But what percentage of points did I win? 54% In other words, even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half the points they play. When you lose ever second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think: 'Okay, I double faulted...it's only a point.' 'Okay, I came to the net and I got passed again...it's only a point.' Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist – that too is just a point. Here's why I'm telling you this. When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world. And it is. But when it's behind you, it's behind you. This mindset is crucial – because it frees you to fully commit to the next point with intensity, clarity, and focus." –@rogerfederer https://lnkd.in/g3h2q4r5

Every year in the US, famous people like actors, singers, writers, politicians, and successful entrepreneurs give big speeches to college graduates. They share their best advice to help young people start their careers. This year, Roger Federer, one of the best tennis players ever, gave a speech at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He said some really important things: In tennis, perfection is impossible. In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. Now, I have a question for you. What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. "When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think, “Okay, I double faulted. It’s only a point.” “Okay, I came to the net and I got passed again. It’s only a point.” Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN’s top 10 playlist, that, too, is just a point. So here’s why I’m telling you this. When you’re playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world and it is. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that with intensity, clarity, and focus. The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes, you’re going to lose a point, a match, a season, a job. It’s a rollercoaster with many ups and downs, and it’s natural when you’re down to doubt yourself and to feel sorry for yourself. And by the way, your opponents have self-doubt, too. Don’t ever forget that. But negative energy is wasted energy. You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is, to me, the sign of a champion, the best in the world and not the best, because they win every point. It’s because they know they’ll lose again and again, and have learned how to deal with it. You accept it, cry it out if you need to, and then force a smile. You move on, be relentless, adapt and grow. Work harder, work smarter. Remember, work smarter. End quote. So, what makes someone really good at what they do? It's about staying focused on what you're doing right now and being consistent. Don't let past wins or losses distract you. Do your best in whatever you're doing at the moment. Keep trying, even when it's hard. Practice being steady in your efforts. If you do these things, you'll find your own way to success. https://lnkd.in/evRz4gmp

Perfection is impossible. In the 1526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. Now, I have a question for you. What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think, okay, I double-faulted ... it's only a point. Okay, I came to the net, then I got passed again; it's only a point. Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist. That, too, is just a point. And here's why I'm telling you this. When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world, and it is. But when it's behind you, It's behind you. This mindset is really crucial because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that, with intensity, clarity, and focus. You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is, to me, the sign of a champion. The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It's because they lose again and again and have learned how to deal with it. You accept it. Cry it out if you need to and force a smile.” — Roger Federer

Perfection is impossible. In the 1526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. Now, I have a question for you. What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think, okay, I double-faulted ... it's only a point. Okay, I came to the net, then I got passed again; it's only a point. Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist. That, too, is just a point. And here's why I'm telling you this. When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world, and it is. But when it's behind you, It's behind you. This mindset is really crucial because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that, with intensity, clarity, and focus. You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is, to me, the sign of a champion. The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It's because they lose again and again and have learned how to deal with it. You accept it. Cry it out if you need to and force a smile.” — Roger Federer

There are so many parallels between sports and business. Sports and life. Sports and character. Sports can teach us so much about competition, discipline, mindset and perseverance. That’s probably why we have so many sports analogies in the workplace :) I love the game of tennis and have admired Roger Federer ever since I was lucky enough to watch him beat my then favorite player, Andre Agassi in the 2005 US Open Final. This weekend Roger delivered a powerful commencement address at Dartmouth. A few of my favorite quotes below. “Effortless is a myth. I didn’t get where I got on pure talent alone, I got there by trying to outwork my opponents. Yes, talent matters. But talent has a broad definition. Most of the time, it’s not about having a gift, it’s about having grit…discipline is also a talent, and so is patience. Trusting yourself is a talent, embracing the process, loving the process is a talent. Managing yourself, managing your life - these can be talents, too. Some people are born with them, everybody has to work at them.” “You can work harder than you thought possible, and still lose, I have many times…Perfection is impossible. In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches…and I won only 54% of the points in those matches. Even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play.” “When you’re playing a point it has to be the most important thing in the world and it is, but when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset is really crucial because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the point after that with intensity, clarity and focus.” “Belief in yourself has to be earned…there was a moment where my self belief really kicked in…I beat some top players I really admire by aiming right at their strength. Before I would run away from their strength. If a guy had a strong forehand, I would try to hit his backhand. But now I would try to go after their strength. I tried to beat the baseliners at the baseline, I’d try to beat the attackers by attacking, I’d try to beat the net rushers at the net.” I can’t wait to see our technology at play at the US Open this year! Roger Federer US Open Noah Syken https://lnkd.in/e7pTeii4

𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌 As not all of you know, I love tennis. It's a sport that challenges not only your physical abilities and strategic thinking but also your emotions. I play every Sunday and yesterday’s game was a lesson. With less than 20 minutes on the clock, I was down 1-5. No matter what I tried, points and opportunities slipped away. Naturally, I felt frustrated. At the brink of irritation, I recalled the wisdom of two tennis legends, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Nadal once said, “𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” Federer, in a recent commencement address at Dartmouth (highly recommended, tennis fan or not), echoed this: “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺. 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯. 𝘉𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳.” I shifted my mindset, adapted, and after another 30 minutes, the game was tied at 6-6 (though I lost in the tie-break). The real takeaway is how this parallels our professional lives: In our professional environment, maintaining a positive attitude is crucial. It influences not only our own performance but also the morale and productivity of the entire team. When faced with challenges or setbacks, a positive mindset helps us stay motivated and focused on finding solutions rather than dwelling on problems. This resilience is key to overcoming obstacles and turning potential failures into opportunities for growth. Adaptability is equally important. The business landscape is constantly changing, and those who can pivot and adjust their strategies in response to new information and circumstances are more likely to succeed. Being adaptable means being open to new ideas, willing to take calculated risks, and ready to embrace change rather than resist it. A culture of continuous improvement encourages team members to consistently seek better ways of doing things.This culture not only improves processes and outcomes but also promotes personal and professional growth. Teams that prioritize continuous improvement are often more agile, competitive, and successful in the long run. Wishing you all a great week! #Dreamon. Be relentless, adapt and grow. Work harder, work smarter! https://lnkd.in/dAtHK4CP

Perfection is impossible. In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. Now I have a question for you: What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think: Okay, I double faulted…it’s only a point. Okay, I came to the net and I got passed again; it’s only a point. Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN’s top 10 playlist, that too is just a point. And here’s why I’m telling you this: When you’re playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world and it is. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset is crucial because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that with intensity, clarity, and focus. You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is to me the sign of a champion. The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It’s because they lose again and again and have learnt how to deal with it. You accept it, cry it out if you need to and force a smile. Roger Federer 2024 Dartmouth Commencement Speech

"Perfection is impossible. In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. But what percentage of points did I win? 54% In other words, even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half the points they play. When you lose ever second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think: 'Okay, I double faulted...it's only a point.' 'Okay, I came to the net and I got passed again...it's only a point.' Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist – that too is just a point. Here's why I'm telling you this. When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world. And it is. But when it's behind you, it's behind you. This mindset is crucial – because it frees you to fully commit to the next point with intensity, clarity, and focus." https://lnkd.in/gHn9XWQT

Insightful #quote by Roger Federer about how small, consistent wins compound to remarkable results at scale. “Perfection is impossible. In the 1526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. Now, I have a question for you. What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think, okay, I double-faulted … it’s only a point. Okay, I came to the net, then I got passed again; it’s only a point. Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN’s top 10 playlist. That, too, is just a point. And here’s why I’m telling you this. When you’re playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world, and it is. But when it’s behind you, It’s behind you. This mindset is really crucial because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that, with intensity, clarity, and focus. You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is, to me, the sign of a champion. The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It’s because they lose again and again and have learned how to deal with it. You accept it. Cry it out if you need to and force a smile.” — Roger Federer From the Farnam Street newsletter. https://lnkd.in/gBYqvJBb

Here’s a question I’ve been toying with recently:  What does it mean to be perfect, and what’s the relationship between perfection and success? I suspect many of us were conditioned early on to associate degrees of perfection to degrees of success.  Why not, when most of our education created a through line between scores on tests with grades for a class with grade point averages, class rank and ultimately admission to variously competitive universities? Recently I watched this video of Roger Federer speaking at the Dartmouth graduation in 2024.  One of the tennis greats who experienced massive success over his career, Federer shares the stunning statistic that of all the points scored in competitive matches he won barely half of them (or lost almost half).  He went on to win over 80% of these matches against other world-class tennis players.  He states that during each point, he gave it his all, but moved on quickly to the next one rather than dwell on points that he lost. Certainly, Federer could have played only against competitors (like me!) where he could win every point and every match.  That would be perfection of a sort, but that wouldn’t lead him to Grand Slam success. Operating under a belief that the proximity to perfection leads to success can lead to many very limiting places: ❌ We often take fewer risks because we fear falling short of perfection ❌ We limit ourselves to situations where we can “keep score” objectively and always “hit the mark” and avoid “messy” situations where perfect isn’t easily defined ❌ We stress being “right the first time” and miss opportunities to collaborate toward better answers ❌ We could spend tremendous energy trying to meet some ineffable standard and relentlessly seek confirmation of our performance ❌ We can lose sight of what we have done well, focus on negatives, and fail to develop ❌ We might become defensive and brittle to feedback that might suggest we could get better  ❌ We can seek to blame others for less than perfect outcomes because anything less than perfection means we have failed, and thus we are a failure As an executive leadership coach who had my own growth toward capable leadership in the corporate world, I find myself experiencing familiar challenges such as perfectionism through the unique filter of my clients’ experiences. It’s not enough to say “perfection isn’t possible” or otherwise rationalize it away.  Instead we work together to understand how perfectionism does and does not serve each individual client, envision the benefits of letting those old behaviors and mindsets go, and most importantly replace them with better options.  That’s an approach that correlates positively with success. If you’d like to explore these concepts more, connect with me here or at john@aconnectedcoach.com #leadershipcoaching #coaching #executivecoaching #perfectionism #tennis