Even if you didn’t watch it, chances are by now you’ve heard all about it. Ten days ago at Superbowl XLIX, with the ball on New England’s 1 yard line and less than one minute of play left, it appeared to be a mere formality for the Seattle Seahawks to get the football into the end zone and win the game. But instead, in the blink of an eye Coach Carroll made a play call that changed everything: Quarterback Russell Wilson made that ill-fated short pass to running back Ricardo Lockette and instead of sealing the win, Lockette was blindsided  as Malcom Butler intercepted the ball, preventing the Seahawks from winning the game.

So, you might ask, what does this recap have to do with small business? If we think of how we view, focus on and ultimately manage our businesses in terms of viewing a football stadium, the breakdown might look like this:

• The 50,000-foot view:
  • Picture the view of the overall scope and vision as well as growth and progress of your business spread out among the field, viewed from the Goodyear Blimp
• The press-box view:
  • From the  press-box the activities and progress towards the objectives of the business can be observed, approved or disapproved and intervened upon only when necessary
• The sideline view:
  • On the sideline, coaches, assistant coaches, managers and players (employees) try to balance on the tightrope between their perception of both the overall scope of the game and the play-by-play action in an attempt to achieve their objectives
• The on-the-field view:
  • The play-by-play action is a balance between reacting in a split second to whatever situation may arise (and to do so in a way that benefits the organization as a whole) as well as to maintain the instructions and direction given by all of those who have a larger view of the situation at hand

Oftentimes small business owners can get caught up in working in the moment, “in the trenches” or “putting out fires” with those on-the-field and/or along the sideline, only to be blindsided by someone who seemingly came out of nowhere, but was really focused on the 50,000 view, and made the play that ended the small business owner’s game.

In the case of Superbowl XLIX, Coach Carroll got caught up in the moment and lost his focus on the overall scope of the game and as soon as he did, his players in the heat of battle followed his instruction, as all good players do.  This ultimate example of follow-the-leader is expressed nowhere more eloquently than in The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson:

“‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,…”

Even though they may have wondered, Wilson and Lockette hyper-focused on the task-at-hand; completing the short pass to the endzone, leaving the door wide-open for a game-changer with a keen eye to his team’s overall objective to come in, take over, and obliterate the entire organization’s chance of achieving their own objective. They never saw him coming.

Too often, as small businesses grow and acquire more employees, projects and work to be done, owners find difficulty in separating themselves from the “on-the-field” view and transitioning to a more press-box view and eventually the 50,000 foot view of their business. After all, a business that is our startup is our baby, and who has more passion for our creation than we do, right?  But in order to ensure the health and longevity of our business in the long-term, it becomes crucial to find good people, surround ourselves with those who compliment our strengths and weaknesses, and begin to learn to let go of the day-to-day, play-by-play details and workings of our business. If we don’t, we risk losing it all.

One great way to begin to let go of the day-to-day tasks, get more time back and grow our businesses is to seek out good virtual assistants. Virtual assistants provide a host of services ranging from basic administrative services to IT, Graphic Design, Marketing, Accounting and much more. Don’t know where to start? Check out the International Virtual Assistant’s Association’s (IVAA) website, where you can submit an RFP (Request for Proposal) detailing the exact services you need, or simply browse the directory categories and find a dedicated, professional Virtual Assistant to help you build and grow your business. It may prove to be the difference in winning the game or suffering defeat.