By Phil Rosenberg

Republished with permission from Phil’s blog on reCareered

What happens when the going gets tough?

In sports, when a team is about to face a tougher opponent, when they are expected to lose, do their coaches have them prepare in the same way? When you’re up against a tough business problem, up against a difficult challenge, do you go prepare the same way as for something easy?

Successful teams, competitors, and business people attack difficult challenges differently than the easy stuff. They prepare differently, they train harder, they push themselves, and they try new tactics to put prepare their competition. Better preparation is why underdogs have a fighting chance to win.

Bobby Knight, 3 time NCAA basketball championship coach, is a great example of this type of preparation. Bobby had solid players who never gave up, who responded to the amazing work ethic that Bobby drilled into their skulls and hearts. His 3 championships with Indiana were teams that rose above the talents of the individual players – these teams were greater than the sum of their parts. » Read more: Job Search Tips: It’s Not Just The Economy, It’s You