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Start-up lessons from Federer

Play the tactics and strategy of the competition and do not get overawed by the name

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Arun Krishnan
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Roger Federer’s  remarkable victory in the Australian Open over his old nemesis Rafael  Nadal was sweet music for long time Federer fans like myself. Federer fans had despaired of Roger never being able to defeat Nadal in Grand Slams. After all, Federer’s last victory over his arch rival in a Grand  Slam tournament had come almost ten years ago in the finals of Wimbledon  2007.

Since then, Nadal had beaten Federer nine times in Grand Slam  matches of which six had been in the finals. A tremendous record against one spoken of as the greatest of all time (GOAT). It was obvious for  tennis fans that Roger had to solve the Nadal conundrum if he had to be  considered as an indisputable GOAT.

As I watched Federer potentially  seal that argument with his recent victory, my mind raced to lessons  that start-ups facing intense competition from established players could  learn from Federer’s victory. Here are five important lessons that  struck me over the course of the match.

Have a plan in place : It  was obvious that Federer had a definite plan in place. He had often in  the past let Nadal dictate the pace of play. Moreover, there were some  significant strategic changes, like service to Nadal’s forehand on the  ad-court. In the past, Federer had more often than not served to Nadal’s  backhand, but this hadn’t yielded results. Instead Federer actually  went to Nadal’s stronger side and by doing so, pulled him off court,  thus allowing him more space to play. While conventional wisdom says  that startups should not go up against the strengths of the more  established players, you never know if doing so might open up other  possibilities which might otherwise have been hidden.

Don’t be afraid to change it in the middle: Having a plan in place is great but  within the overall strategy, tactics can and must be changed depending  on the situation. Federer’s decision to respond to Nadal’s topspin with  loopy topspin of his own showed great tactical nous.

Believe in  your abilities: When push comes to shove, start-ups need to believe in  their abilities to survive through the difficult times. In the fifth  set, down a break, Federer had enough fahis abilities to go for his  shots and execute them almost flawlessly.

Play the ball, not the  competition: Federer mentioned that in the past he had often let Nadal  get into his head. Heading into the fifth set, he told himself to play  the ball and not the competition. This is a great advice for start-ups  as well. Play the tactics and strategy of the competition and do not get  overawed by the name.

Never give up: Finally, Federer just  didn’t give up. He did to Nadal what Nadal had done successfully in the  past to him. Down a break in the final set against possibly the greatest  competitor tennis has ever seen, Federer just “bulled” his way through  to the title. Start-ups need to similarly buckle down and keep trying.  Giving up should not be an option.

The writer is founder and CEO of HR analytics start-up nFactorial Analytical Sciences

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