Hello Friends,
The Lovegren family packed up and moved to Spring Hill, TN just south of Nashville in July 2022. Driving across the country with three kids and our dog was quite an adventure. We had extended stays in Boise, ID and Branson, MO and made it in 9 days. Moving across the country and starting a new life is a LAUNCH in itself and we made it and are loving it here. Jessica, Mikaela, Bella, Liam and Lola, a family on an adventure, "all who wander are not lost."
We had quite the playlist on the way here and listened to a lot of country music. The Song "Tennessee" by Arrested Development brought me back to the 90's and the chorus described our adventure perfectly:
For some strange reason it had to be
It was all a dream about Tennessee
Take me to another place
Take me to another land
Make me forget all that hurts me
Let me understand your plan
When we arrived this whiteboard and inspirational message was on the wall of the office and I thought I would announce the YFOREST Launch with it.
Golf and Business have been a part of my life for a combined total of 57 years. Golf since the age of 13 and business since the age of 24. Reading, writing, study, dedication, leadership, and passion are words that pop in my head when I think about golf and business. Here are some light bulb moments and principles I have learned along the way that has led me to this point of pursuing my passion wholeheartedly:
My sophomore year in High School I wrote a Philosophy paper titled "Golf is a microcosm of Life". At the time I thought golf was life. It's still pretty great but perspective is learned through experience.
In my 20 year sales and leadership career I learned that applying best practices will lead to goal achievement (transactional), and applying creative initiatives will lead to higher results beyond the goal (transformational).
I learned from my Masters of Science in Leadership from the Ken Blanchard College of Business at Grand Canyon University that Stakeholder Analysis (Analyzing the people and teams that decisions affect and how that cannot be done without considering everyone) and making others better around you through teamwork are powerful keys to high-performance. I also learned that numbers are a scorecard of your performance.
I learned from playing college golf that I love the process of improving performance and studying and teaching golf.
A few of my favorite recent golf influencers are Mike Adams for biomechanical testing, setup and swing, Adam Young for data that applies to a solid strike, Gio Valiante on the mental game and his concept of flow, Mark Broadie on his "Strokes Gained" Data and book, Dave Pelz on his wedge clock system and chipping, Stan Utley on Putting and the short game, Dr. Joseph Parent on Mastering the Mental Game on the Greens, Aimpoint Express system for reading greens. There are also so many golfers and instructors that I have learned from over time, but these are some recent areas of study. I love the study and creative application that comes after learning these concepts.
Top golfers have figured out that focusing on the process instead of score will lead to a better score. Businesses can hurt their numbers by only talking about improving them without a strategic process.
Staying in the present helps in Sales, Business and Golf.
Anxiety, depression, and anger are real emotions that are directly tied to unknown goals, failed goals, and blocked goals.
It's just business, it's not personal is a phrase that can justify treating people poorly. On the opposite side of the spectrum drama and emotional chaos can ruin a culture. There is another answer that includes empathy, love, strength, and a sound-mind.
Emotional awareness and acknowledgement leads to better more satisfying results.
I learned from teaching my 9 year old golf that I really love studying and teaching golf.
Growth in golf and business is a multi-variable algebra equation within a painting......
The formula: Creativity Process + Performance best practices = Goal Achieving Growth
Data should be real-time, accurate, a starting point, and should lead to the right questions not the answers. The obvious solution is not always the right answer and can lead to assumptions. The obvious answer from data can be the right answer but asking the right questions is a better process. People use data as a weapon instead of a tool.
"Strokes Gained" and "Salesforce" and "reports and dashboards" are amazing tools that provide a benchmark and result, they quantify the work of growth.
When moving into management from the outside of an organization I learned that trust has to be earned. Leadership is a great responsibility full of humility and failure. It reveals and shapes your character. You can be given more credit or blame than you deserve.
The key to perspective is making all of your decisions based on character over reputation. Are you making decisions based on what is right and good or how you will be perceived? These are conflicting more often than not. You will never regret a character-based decision because the sum of your decisions are a big part of who you are.
The key to selling an idea, product, or service is all about value, blame and credit.
It is your responsibility to sell a great idea and you have accountability for the implementation, results, and the work.
A creative idea that has never been tried has the greatest potential so choose the road less travelled. Applying best practices from within and from other industries provides a great balance and leads to high performance. "AND" is a growth mindset word. "Or" is a fixed mindset word.
Launching GolfSwingFreak in 2011, a social network based on the golf swing on video was the most fun I have ever had in golf and business and why I am making a comeback in my areas of passion.
Culture is created by how people are treated and respected and who they are. Trust is earned and creates great cultures. Great culture is created over time, earned, and can be ruined in a second.
Culture is an amazing opportunity to apply Creativity, Teamwork, and Communication.
Ethics is a line and moral decisions cannot dance above and below this line. Morality should be a line far above legality and ethics that creates a margin that will leave you beyond reproach. This is the key to peace of mind and sleeping well at night.
Look for the tips of iceberg in the ocean and be curious about them.
The goal of being a consultant is to help others think differently and apply a process that leads to continuous improvement.
The theme of this blog is the word LAUNCH as it applies to Golf and Business.
GOLF
It is never too late to launch a plan to improve an area of your golf game. There are so many factors that contribute to success in golf that trying to improve can be daunting because it is hard to figure out where to start. It is never too late to LAUNCH a new workout, health plan, golf swing improvement, speed plan, wedge system, chipping system, data analysis, or technology purchase. It is never too late to LAUNCH. Decide the most interesting area to you and do it now.
The word LAUNCH in golf has become a popular work in the Kinematic Sequence when looking at biomechanics. Sasho Mackenzie is a biomechanist and has worked with Mike Adams a Hall of Fame Golf Instructor to explain the process that describes how every good golfer shifts their weight to start their downswing, rotates, and launches in that order. Dr. Phil Cheatham and Dr. Sasho MacKenzie discuss biomechanics and how the body launches:
Mike Adams describes how you need to load the weight of your lead leg (left leg if play golf right handed) to increase your launch. Pushing your weight into the ground creates a ground reaction that helps you push off the ground and increases your swing speed.
My son Liam is 9 and has really developed a passion for the game of golf. We have worked a lot on launch as this is his main source of power based on Mike Adams biomechanical tests. He has worked on doing jump squats before hitting a drive and throwing a ball into the ground to work on his power. Check these out!
Business
The concept of the Launch in your business, startup, or side hustle is crucial. It is never to late to launch, re-launch or start fresh. A concept from the book "Your First 100 Days" discussing early wins and allies as a strategic concept for starting in a new company. It also discusses that it is never too late to have a new First 100 days. Meeting with people and sharing your goals and learning about their goals is a great way to build new allies and gain clarity into what your early wins should be. Teamwork that is win-win is the ultimate way to launch.
Seth Godin in his Book called "The Practice" discusses that "ideas often come from reading or listening to a book. Good ideas come from bad ideas. Ideas come from trouble. Ideas come from our ego and they are best when they are generous and selfless. Useful ideas come from being alert and awake enough. Good ideas come from the shower when we are not trying." Come up with an idea to apply to your career, business, startup or new venture, and launch it now. Seth states "The Goal is to be an idea shipping person." See Seth talk about how to Launch a startup and why a lot of ideas are better than one and how to launch and test in three days.
How to start? Gary Vaynerchuk tells you now to Launch!
A Launch must not only include an grand vision but also clearly communicate the vision and what is being offered.
YForest Launch:
The Vision: Creativity and Performance Consulting for Golf and Business.
Launching a new term called BioCreativity: The study and process of creativity in living organisms.
The formula: Creativity Process + Performance Best Practices = Goal Achieving Growth
Consulting or Fractional Contracting for Golf Companies and Businesses looking to grow through improvements in Sales/Marketing.
Consulting or Fractional Contracting for hiring and improvements in culture.
Creativity and Performance Consulting for individuals in golf and business through a 4-hour process with goal check-ins for 90 days.
Who is Yforest for?
Golf Instructors looking at getting more creative in their teaching and business.
Golf Companies looking at using creativity and best practices to grow.
Businesses that want to apply creativity and best practices to grow.
Sales and Sales Development teams that want to apply best practices to meet goals and apply creativity to exceed goals.
People that want to apply creativity and best practices to increase performance in their careers or golf games.
If you are interested in learning more or talking, please reach me at brianlovegren@yforest.co or text/call me at (503) 741-7560.
Creatively,
Brian Lovegren