As in the NFL, as in Life

Which is better: to get off to a good start, or to finish strong? Let's see what Week 10 of the NFL had to say about this:

• In games where one team outscored the other in the 1st quarter, the team that scored more won 67% of the time.
• In games where one team outscored the other in the 2nd quarter, the team that scored more won 62% of the time.
• In games where one team outscored the other in the 3rd quarter, the team that scored more won 75% of the time.
• In games where one team outscored the other in the 4th quarter, the team that scored more won 60% of the time.

This admittedly limited sampling would suggest that although a fast start is somewhat helpful - more so than a strong finish, anyway - the real key is what you do in the 3rd quarter. That is, what you do in the first half of the second half has the greatest impact on the final outcome.

Now surely there are counter-balancing examples out there - the way the Denver Broncos beat my favorite Oakland Raiders is a particularly painful one. But the Chicago Bears' stunning victory of the New York Football Giants was sealed with a 14-0 run in quarter three.

The application here is this: Think about your current roster of projects and outstanding commitments. Identify the ones where you're about halfway through - just starting the first half of the second half, as it were - and see what a good surge does to the overall success of the assignment.

You may be pleasantly surprised.