Q: Loved that Super Bowl win by the Giants, but it’s hard not to feel sorry for the Patriots. Sort of reminds me of losing a big client when you least expect it.
Jim

A: My pal Jim made this observation after the game and I thought it was pretty astute. The 4th quarter of Sunday’s Super Bowl game was very exciting but it was hard to believe that the Patriots wouldn’t pull it out, given their dominating season and 18-0 record going into the game.

But they didn’t. In the end, Tom Brady was forced to throw a couple of Hail Marys to Randy Moss and hope some of the magic dust that had been sprinkled on their season remained. No such luck.

How do we avoid a similar fate? As small business people, we have our own personal challenges and tests. Whether it’s landing the big, new customer or impressing that person you need to impress, we all want to succeed.

Here then are my four tips for winning your own personal Super Small Business Bowl:

1. Don’t ignore the competition: The two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl are filled with super hype, sure, but behind the scenes the coaches are busy analyzing what the other team will likely do and making the necessary adjustments and plans needed to hopefully counteract it.

This is a play that many small businesses could really stand to take out of the NFL playbook. Too often, we spend our strategic energy thinking about what we will do and not really worrying about what the competition is up to.

But it would behoove many an entrepreneur to spend more time thinking about the other team. Keep an eye on their store and/or website. Check out their ads. What’s their game plan? Is there a play there that you could run too? Is there a weakness in their offense that may be an opportunity for you?

2. Do what you do best: Growing your business and trying new things are great; in fact, a lot of the juice in business comes from trying out new tricks and strategies. But as you do, don’t lose track of what it is you do that got you to the big game in the first place.

If you are a running team, run. If you play great defense, don’t forget that. What I mean is that you need to avoid over-extending yourself when you try something new. Remember what your core competencies are and remain true to them, even as you try out that new trick play.

3. Don’t believe the hype: Teams that get too caught up in their own mythology can fumble it all away as they spend more time on what is not important and miss the ball in front of their face.

I have an associate who started a new business a few years back and paid a general contractor a lot of money. Because he had heard that the contractor was quite good, he did no background check on the guy. My colleague then went about doing everything else that needed to be done to start the business.

He believed the hype, and it was a costly mistake. The contractor failed to pay the subs.

Pets.com was a high-flying Internet startup back in 2000 and ran an expensive Super Bowl ad. It was also out of business not long thereafter. They believed the hype too.

4. Avoid the need for a Hail Mary: Hail Mary passes are only needed when what you planned has failed and you need to do something dramatic before it’s too late to get the outcome you desire. While they sometime work in football, in business, the Hail Mary play often has the reek of desperation.

You avoid the need for a Hail Mary by doing what you do best, having a plan, following it, and adjusting as necessary. Sometimes you might have to make a desperate move, but not often.

Bottom line: Take care of business and your business will take care of you.

Today’s tip: Of course, when a Hail Mary pass works, it’s incredible. Probably the best Hail Mary ever was when Doug Flutie and Boston College used it to beat Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl.