Golf and business go hand in hand. Honestly, there should be classes solely devoted to the benefits of golf on your company. It’s a great way to learn about clients, to get outside, increase the opportunities for your business, and heck, it’s also a great activity for your mental health. More than that, there are a lot of things you can learn as an owner and a manager from the game of golf. Thinking about business like your golf game can give you a fresh perspective about your operations. Plus, it might even inspire you to get out on the links sooner rather than later. Take a look at four ways golf can teach you about your business. 1.    The Long Game From the tee box, you can see what’s ahead. You’ll know what club to pick, the shots it will require, how to stay in the fairway and what to avoid. You need a plan to make par or better. Similarly your business needs a plan to truly succeed. But you can’t do that unless you understand the long game. Before you start every year, you budget, you cast vision and you prepare for your year. Maybe you have a morning team checkup to go over the day’s outlook. Winning leaders know that the best thing you can do is keep your eye on the entire hole from start to finish. 2.    Fairways How do you know how far you can hit each club? Woods or irons? The more you practice, the more consistent your game is. The more your business refines its processes, the better off you’ll be. If you’ve ever implemented a successful process, you know that skipping steps would ruin the entire thing. Just like in golf, there is a temptation to skip or ignore certain steps in your operations. While processes aren’t the most exciting part of your business, plans will go awry when you lose consistency. Keep doing what you do well, and even when a problem arises, you can lean on your smoothest and best practices while addressing issues. 3.    Short Game/Putting Golfers will tell you the same thing: off the tee or right by the cup, every shot matters. You have to give equal weight to the big as well as the small. If you enjoy the visioning and finishing processes, great! But don’t forget the details, because they matter just as much. Everyone wants to swing for the fences, but if you’re not careful, you could miss some of the small but essential details. As a business owner and manager, you know the value of having your eye on both the big vision and in the day-to-day operations. Make sure you don’t let the small stuff slip through the cracks. Little things like telling your clients that you appreciate their business, keeping the office clean, and telling your employees thank you go a long way toward having a successful business! 4.    Have fun! There are so many moments in golf that make you question why you’re out there in the first place: when you find the sand, go swimming for a ball, or watching a ball sail in a different direction. If golfers let those moments define their games, then there wouldn’t be much of a need for country clubs. Golfers play because they have fun, and your business should be the same. You started your business because you enjoyed getting up every day and getting things done. You love being a manager because you love the people you work with. Don’t forget to take time and enjoy the journey. That’s the whole point!