PLAY TO THE WHISTLE

There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the most difficult part of any endeavor is getting started…but the most important part is finishing.
Some of you may recall the David vs. Goliath moment that happened during the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid when the U.S. played the Soviets, which proved that you should always play until the whistle blows.

The players skated onto the ice and within the first few minutes the Soviets scored. What happens next is a life lesson we can all learn from though. One of our players took a slapshot past the legendary goaltender, tying the game. The Soviets quickly scored again, and it looked like the first period might end with them in the lead when the unexpected happened. The U.S. team picked up the puck in our own zone with only five seconds left. Rather than playing until the whistle blew the Soviets had let up thinking the period was over and thinking they had the game locked down. Big mistake…we scored with only one second left to tie the game.
So many great moments occurred throughout the second half putting the score at 4-3. The Soviets ended up pulling their goalie and replacing with their backup to intimidate our team…but legendary coach Herb Brooks said to his players “Don’t change a thing because they’ve changed goalies…play the same way…play your game”…Then…

We won.

In business and within the walls of Hall Financial we built the idea of finishing strong into everything we do. This is an undervalued attribute in today’s business world. We work just as hard at 5pm on Friday as we did at 9am Monday. It’s human nature to phone it in at the end of an initiative that’s been tough, a month or a quarter you’ve been faced with adversity and to think “what’s the point now?”. But as we prepare to enter the last month of 2022 this week and wrap up the 4th quarter, we owe it to ourselves to remember that finishing strong matters. Your efforts every single day still matter and will determine how the story of 2022 ends. While the rest of the world lets up thinking that the period is over during a quieter time of year, don’t change a thing because of the conditions…play the conditions, play your game, and finish strong until the whistle blows.

Have a great and productive day!