What My Beloved Packers Teach Us About Consistency

My beloved Green Bay Packers take on their biggest rival, the Chicago Bears, Sunday for the National Football Conference crown and an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. The rivalry between the two teams is the NFL’s longest, beginning in 1921.  During the span of the last 90 years, the two teams have faced each other a whopping 181 times. But only once have they met in the playoffs and that was 70 years ago.

The rivalry between the two teams is very real for the fans and players. As Bears star linebacker Brian Urlacher  said the other day, “We don’t like them. They don’t like us.”

As a kid growing up in Wisconsin, I was a Packers fan.  My grandfather had grown up in Chicago and was a Bears fan.  When the Bears and Packers faced off twice each season, so did my grandpa and me.  No, we didn’t turn into bitter enemies twice each year.  Instead, we placed a wager on each game with the winner taking home a quarter and, more important, bragging rights until the two teams faced again.

Earlier this week I was talking to a colleague who lives in Chicago, and he said Bears fans are calling this the biggest game in Bears history.  Now this is a team who won a Super Bowl and played in another, but beating their long-time rival for another trip to the big game is more significant to many.  That’s how much they want to beat the Packers.

In trying to evaluate my team’s chances for a victory on Sunday, I ran across some interesting facts about the Packers season:

• First, the Packers lost six games this season, which meant they entered the playoffs with the bottom seed. But they lost those six games by a total of 20 points, an average margin of loss of just more than 3 points.
• What’s more, the Packers never trailed by more than seven points in a game all season. That is something that hadn’t happened in the NFL in more than 40 years.

Those two stats make me feel pretty good about the Packers’ chances because they have been in every game they’ve played this season. There’s something to be said for consistency. And the Packers have been consistent this season.

Consistency Matters
I think it’s the same in business. If you can perform consistently, as an individual or as an organization, you’ll be in the game every time.  That’s because people can count on consistency. Your customers, vendors, employees, and bosses will know how you’ll perform regardless of the circumstances. They will know that you won’t completely implode. You’ll have a plan that will give you an opportunity to win every single time. Sometimes things will work out better than others, but you’ll never completely blow it.

And consistency doesn’t mean you won’t throw the touchdown bomb every once in a while. It doesn’t mean you won’t take some risks that could pay off in a big way. It just means that you are very calculated in evaluating those opportunities or manage the risks associated with those opportunities better than others. If you can move toward your goal in a methodical, meticulous manner, your chances for success are much better than throwing up a “Hail Mary” and hoping for the best.

Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s game, I think we can all learn a lesson from the Packers season. Consistency pays off. The Packers are one of four teams still standing as we approach the end of the season, and it’s a result of their consistency.