Playing Makes Perfect, Eventually

I love to play golf. It’s a sport with an unforgiving margin for error—sometimes as little as a quarter inch separates the dreaded shank from a perfect strike. And each shot brings a new set of variables: wind, temperature, the lie, distance, and the hole's layout. Like most amateurs, I’m not very good, but the more I play, the better I become.

Ben Hogan, one of the greatest golfers of all time, understood this principle deeply. In 1953, he captured golf’s rare triple crown—the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship. Known for his relentless pursuit of perfection, Hogan became one of the most consistently accurate ball-strikers in history.

In his classic book Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, he recounts a moment from the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion when he executed an exceptionally difficult shot under immense pressure—one that helped secure his victory. Hogan then reflects:

[Spectators tend] to glamorize the actual shot since it was hit in a pressureful situation. ... something almost inspired, you might say, since the shot was just what the occasion called for.

I don’t see it that way at all. ... I’d been practicing that shot since I was 12 years old. After all, the point of tournament golf is to get command of a swing which, the more pressure you put on it, the better it works. (1)

Hogan’s preparation wasn’t confined to the driving range. It came through countless rounds of “live” shots—moments of tournament pressure that didn’t matter as much. By the time he reached that defining moment at Merion, he wasn’t improvising. He was drawing on thousands of repetitions. Playing had shaped him.

Leadership works the same way.

Every decision, every conversation, every moment of influence is unique, and each demands a tailored response. Some leadership moments carry enormous consequences; others unfold in the quiet, low-pressure rhythms of daily work.

But just like Hogan’s famous shot, a leader’s pivotal action under pressure isn’t necessarily a sudden burst of inspiration. It’s the cumulative product of the hundreds of decisions that came before it.

Best Bosses invest in those learning cycles. They are humble enough to admit mistakes and courageous enough to take risks. They build the discipline of humility and courage in ordinary moments, so when the pressure rises, they respond with clarity, steadiness, and impact.

For Best Bosses, every interaction is an opportunity to make a difference and get better.

For them, playing makes perfect, eventually.

That’s why they’re the best.

(1) Ben Hogan, Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1957), 13.