This year, I was fortunate to attend The Masters, hosted at Augusta National Golf Club, as the guest of a friend who is the son of a former Masters champion.

After my time of 4 days there, I got to thinking about the means and methods of being successful on course vs in business:

• Stay after it. When a bad shot was made–whether it was in a bunker, in the trees, or on a hillside with a sloping greenway–the pros approached each shot with focus, determination and not a lot of words. Just a few feet away from me in the woods, I watched Rickie hit his ball around the tree, above a big limb, below another limb and through another opening in the second tree to land on the green. Amazing.

• Don’t dwell on mistakes. When these guys hit a bad shot, they seem to try to put it behind them, as we should do in business. What was done yesterday was yesterday and we have no control over it. We only have a say in the future, and limited control over that.

• Practice, practice, practice. There is never a substitute for being prepared for any kind of shot, bad or good. These players would warm up on the range for a couple of hours, head to the course for four hours, then get back to the range to work on whatever needed improving.

I have been thinking about these observations ever since returning to the office, and trying to figure out how to implement these work ethics into our organization.