Cheer-Leadership or All I Need to Know About Business I Learned from Cheerleading

Thanks to teen movies, many people have this stereotypical idea of cheerleaders as being ditzy and mean. However, there are a great many life-lessons that can be learned during your time on the team that have surprising application in the business world.

1. Getting to the top of the pyramid means taking a few risks. The person at the top of the pyramid is the one who is willing to take the risks, usually in the form of a backflip or a layout. It helps to be light, nimble, and flexible. Since you are the person with the farthest to fall, you have to be able to rely on the stability of the team suporting you.

Fortunately, in business no one actually tosses you ten feet into the air and expects you land on your feet.

Well, almost never.

2. Step lightly on your way to the top. You can't simply manipulate and coerce your way to the top of the pyramid. Well, you can, but then when it comes time to perform a trust fall, you may have a slight problem.

This corollary of point number one seems to have escaped quite a few people. Some seem to think that "underlings" are meant to be stepped on, climbed over, and not-so-subtly kicked on the way up. It's one thing to accidentally land on someone's foot, but some people leave a trail of crushed clavicles and contusions. These are the same people who discover that when they are in trouble, no one will return their calls.

Make sure you know the difference between who is "underneath you" and who is "holding you up" - it's a big one.

3. Keep cheering loudly, even you are winning. This is a marketing lesson if ever there was one. So you've landed the big client. Maybe you've landed several. Don't stop marketing your company and looking for new clients just because you are currently busy. Projects end, businesses change, decision-makers come and go - make sure you've got new clients lined up. It's the only way to keep your company growing, your cash flowing, and V-I-C-T- oh nevermind.

4. Having the lead at halftime doesn't mean you can slack for the last half of the game. So you were first to market with your product, or maybe you built a better mousetrap.

Right now there is someone out there thinking about how they can capture your market share with a bigger, better, faster version.

Besides, in business the game doesn't actually end - you might be winning at a given moment, but you never can say you've "won."

(I know: that was a stretch for cheerleading. But cheerleaders need to stretch.)

5. As mom used to say, "if you are going to do a backflip in a miniskirt, you'd better be wearing your best underneath." Actually, when mom said it, I think there was a bus involved somehow, but close enough.

Don't call attention to practices that you don't actually want scrutinized. Better still, don't get involved in practices that can't stand up to scrutiny. Sooner or later someone is going to examine what's behind the hype.

Sometimes it's vapourware, and sometimes it's fraud. Sometimes it's just a matter of making an announcement of your latest greatest product so far in advance of it actually coming to market that the buzz comes and goes without paying off in terms of sales.

Whatever the cause, get your house in order before throwing the doors open. Sooner or later, someone is going to ask that question.

For more details, see: Hollinger, Enron, or Worldcom. Of course, it's best not to get mental images of Bernard Ebbers wearing a miniskirt.

© 2005 Gisela McKay. Gisela McKay is Chief Technology Officer of pixcode Inc. Gisela envisions new applications for technology, and then makes sure they become reality. Some of her projects include: NaturalHealthcare.ca, CanadaEventsCalendar.ca, and BusinessPartnerships.ca. Gisela wrote this article to combat that common exclamation: "YOU were a cheerleader? But you seem so smart!"

Washington Post
A bit of Federer humor
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 2 hours ago
Roger Federer seems to be enjoying himself more at this tournament than any US Open or Wimbledon I can recall (which is about all I can speak for, ...
Video: Federer Beats Djokovic to Reach US Open Final AssociatedPress
Djokovic lets Roddick have it after win at Open Newsday
Novak Djokovic draws boos after beating Andy Roddick at US Open Los Angeles Times
FOXSports.com - New York Timesall 4,046 news articles

Book review: Inspiration and humor for DIY-ers
Chicago Sun-Times, United States - 12 hours ago
BY KAY SEVERINSEN - SearchChicago-Homes Editor Ever wondered what possesses the people who rehab vintage homes? Not only are the homes decrepit and filthy ...
Their house was so ugly they called it the 'barn' Chicago Sun-Times
all 2 news articles

DailyTech
Microsoft’s Seinfeld Campaign: Random Humor, No Vista
Wall Street Journal Blogs, NY - Sep 5, 2008
The 90-second ad is basically a showcase for Seinfeld’s observational humor and Gates’s penchant for self parody. Gates is buying a pair of shoes at Shoe ...
Microsoft Sprinkles Seinfeld-Gates Humor In Its “Warm-Up� Ad eFluxMedia
What's With the New Microsoft Ads? Wired News
Jerry Seinfeld to sex up Microsoft with teaser ads - video Monsters and Critics.com
Internet News - WebProNewsall 532 news articles

Colantuono Tries To See The Humor Of It All
Goal.com, Switzerland - Sep 6, 2008
A few days after his shock dismissal as Palermo coach, Stefano Colantuono talked about his side of the story. The coach had already been sacked by the ...

Vancouver Sun
HBO's vampire tale taps a vein of dark humor and gothic romance
Boston Globe, United States - Sep 5, 2008
Just the name Sookie Stackhouse captures a sense of the humor - it's a slight parody of a typical young-adult heroine's name, like Pippi Longstocking, ...
Out Of The Shadows Hartford Courant
"Six Feet Under' creator finds drama in tough subjects Chicago Sun-Times
Worth more than a lick Baltimore Sun
Arab Times - RedOrbitall 233 news articles

Strawman Logic Easily Shows Humor, Absurdity
TriCities.com, TN - 16 hours ago
By Letters To The Editor In the spirit of election season lightheartedness, I would like to submit a written impression of the run-of-the-mill, ...

Walking the thin line between humor and oppression
Manila Bulletin, Philippines - Sep 5, 2008
Himaruya’s ability to find humor in a historical event is a mark of his genius. As a teacher of mine once said, it takes great understanding and wisdom to ...

Despite bits of humor, 'Baghead' has a minimalist plot and is ...
Baltimore Sun, United States - Sep 5, 2008
The film has moments of horror-fueled humor, but they're never as funny or scary as they should be. And even if the minimalist plot is a shrewd response to ...

Harris' sense of humor
Chicago Sun-Times, United States - Sep 5, 2008
Harris Bank, one of Chicago's venerable financial institutions, is adding to its advertising arsenal of print, outdoor and online work a series of three ...

Duck humor: Wide misses or foul hits? MARK GUYDISH OPINION
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, PA - Sep 6, 2008
I just find his swings at humor are usually either wide misses or foul hits (baseball and bird pun in one). To me, the quack’s not funny. ...

Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

Slip-sliding On A Peel