As spring draws near, and basketball enthusiasts across America consider their brackets for March Madness, my thoughts turn to a different sport: Golf.

I first picked up a golf club in 2003, following a move across country. Learning to play golf helped ease my homesickness, and using golf for business development was fun. The relevance of lessons from golf to my law practice was unexpected, but now the basics of golf regularly inform my guidance to clients. Here are some of the principles that commonly come into play.

Understand Your Target

In golf, aiming accurately is difficult. We are taught to line up square to the ball and swing away, but are often surprised when the ball flies in an unintended direction. Employers also often do not understand how to approach a target properly, and are surprised when attempts at correction, such as performance improvement, miss the mark.

Long ago, Jack Nicklaus developed an easy method for aiming that I finally learned last summer. Once you identify your target, stand behind the ball and imagine a line between the target and the ball. Then, pick a spot a few feet in front of the ball, along that line, and focus on that spot when you square up behind the ball. By swinging to the short target, your aim towards the long target will be more accurate.

Poor performers are a common workplace problem, but many managers cannot articulate expectations for achieving good performance. As a result, poor performance–and manager frustration–spiral, until the only option that managers see is termination. Better managers understand how an employee can succeed in a particular position, and can establish quantifiable goals that, if achieved, will enable the employee to do so. Focusing on both the short target and the long target increases the manager's– and the employee's– chances for success.

One Shot at a Time

Golf is a linear game comprised of shots. You hit one after another until you arrive at the green. Once you make your putt, you move on to the next hole. It's tempting to think ahead from the fairway– to imagine how great you will feel when you sink that birdie putt. But this will all but ensure that your next shot will land in the water, because you will have lost focus on the shot at hand. Even with focus, some shots do not always turn out as hoped. The ability to grind, to focus on the current shot and to keep at it until you reach your goal, distinguishes good golfers from the rest.

Employers who are committed to both the right target and focus may still be sidelined by changes to the law by the legislature, the courts or the agencies. Recent conflicting decisions about the exempt status of pharmaceutical sales representatives (which the Supreme Court has declined to review), and an abrupt change in position by the Department of Labor relating to non-exempt status for mortgage loan officers, for example, have left previously-compliant employers scrambling to adapt their pay practices. Employers who remain focused, who grind, will adapt to changing conditions to achieve their goals. Those who are distracted by change and who cannot focus on the challenge at hand will see their risk profiles grow.

Play It As It Lies

A ball resting behind a rock is hard to hit well. The temptation to nudge it to an easier lie is great, but the integrity of your scorecard will be in question. Employers face similar challenges every day– from the consequences of poor decision making to overcoming obstacles created by the legislature, courts, agencies and employees. The temptation to ignore or shortcut such challenges may seem like an easy out. It's the employers who focus on the target, take one shot at a time and address obstacles squarely, who have a better chance at long range success.

Read Melissa Calhoon Jones' previous column. Read Melissa Calhoon Jones' next column.

As spring draws near, and basketball enthusiasts across America consider their brackets for March Madness, my thoughts turn to a different sport: Golf.

I first picked up a golf club in 2003, following a move across country. Learning to play golf helped ease my homesickness, and using golf for business development was fun. The relevance of lessons from golf to my law practice was unexpected, but now the basics of golf regularly inform my guidance to clients. Here are some of the principles that commonly come into play.

Understand Your Target

In golf, aiming accurately is difficult. We are taught to line up square to the ball and swing away, but are often surprised when the ball flies in an unintended direction. Employers also often do not understand how to approach a target properly, and are surprised when attempts at correction, such as performance improvement, miss the mark.

Long ago, Jack Nicklaus developed an easy method for aiming that I finally learned last summer. Once you identify your target, stand behind the ball and imagine a line between the target and the ball. Then, pick a spot a few feet in front of the ball, along that line, and focus on that spot when you square up behind the ball. By swinging to the short target, your aim towards the long target will be more accurate.

Poor performers are a common workplace problem, but many managers cannot articulate expectations for achieving good performance. As a result, poor performance–and manager frustration–spiral, until the only option that managers see is termination. Better managers understand how an employee can succeed in a particular position, and can establish quantifiable goals that, if achieved, will enable the employee to do so. Focusing on both the short target and the long target increases the manager's– and the employee's– chances for success.

One Shot at a Time

Golf is a linear game comprised of shots. You hit one after another until you arrive at the green. Once you make your putt, you move on to the next hole. It's tempting to think ahead from the fairway– to imagine how great you will feel when you sink that birdie putt. But this will all but ensure that your next shot will land in the water, because you will have lost focus on the shot at hand. Even with focus, some shots do not always turn out as hoped. The ability to grind, to focus on the current shot and to keep at it until you reach your goal, distinguishes good golfers from the rest.

Employers who are committed to both the right target and focus may still be sidelined by changes to the law by the legislature, the courts or the agencies. Recent conflicting decisions about the exempt status of pharmaceutical sales representatives (which the Supreme Court has declined to review), and an abrupt change in position by the Department of Labor relating to non-exempt status for mortgage loan officers, for example, have left previously-compliant employers scrambling to adapt their pay practices. Employers who remain focused, who grind, will adapt to changing conditions to achieve their goals. Those who are distracted by change and who cannot focus on the challenge at hand will see their risk profiles grow.

Play It As It Lies

A ball resting behind a rock is hard to hit well. The temptation to nudge it to an easier lie is great, but the integrity of your scorecard will be in question. Employers face similar challenges every day– from the consequences of poor decision making to overcoming obstacles created by the legislature, courts, agencies and employees. The temptation to ignore or shortcut such challenges may seem like an easy out. It's the employers who focus on the target, take one shot at a time and address obstacles squarely, who have a better chance at long range success.

Read Melissa Calhoon Jones' previous column. Read Melissa Calhoon Jones' next column.