Dear Growth Guru,
With the World Cup underway in the USA, my team is completely distracted. Between checking scores from the late-night games, streaming the early evening kickoffs at their desks, and planning pub trips, productivity is dipping.
How do I keep the team focused on hitting targets without being a complete killjoy?
Distracted in Dudley
Dear Distracted,
Trying to fight World Cup fever with rigid management is a battle you will lose. With the time zone differences in the US creating an evening-heavy match schedule, your team isn’t just distracted during the day. In fact, they are likely tired from staying up late to watch the knockout rounds.
If you try to lock down the office with strict policy, you won’t get high-quality focus. Instead, you will just get clock-watching, resentful presenteeism, and group chats buzzing under desks. The secret here isn’t to suppress the energy, but to structure and channel it. Top-tier commercial leaders don’t play defence during a tournament; they adapt the playing field so targets are smashed before the referee blows the whistle.
🛠️ The Tactical Blueprint
Instead of watching productivity slowly drain away, use these three high-impact strategies to keep your team motivated, aligned, and hitting their daily targets.
1. Capitalise on the “Pre-Kickoff” Buzz
Because the games in the USA are kicking off later in our afternoon and evening, the working day actually presents a brilliant commercial window. The hours leading up to an England match are unique because everyone — including your prospects — is in a buoyant, expectant mood.
Instruct your team to lean into this shared cultural moment during their morning outreach. A casual, warm opening line like, “I’ll keep this incredibly brief because I know we are both counting down the hours until kickoff…” humanises your brand instantly. It breaks the ice faster than any standard cold-calling script, lowering gatekeeper resistance and boosting connection rates.
2. Introduce the ‘Matchday Sprint’
Don’t let focus drift over a standard eight-hour day when an early evening game is looming. Instead, sit the team down first thing in the morning and build a transparent commercial compact:
The Deal: Identify the absolute non-negotiable outputs needed for the day (e.g., 30 outbound connects per rep, or five critical pipeline updates).
The Reward: If the entire team hits their individual and collective sprint targets by 3:30 PM, the boardroom screen switches over to the pre-match build-up, or they can head off early to catch the game.
By condensing the day into a high-velocity sprint, you gamify the output. Peer accountability will skyrocket because nobody wants to be the person holding the team back from the build-up.
3. Implement the ‘Time Zone Shift’
With games running late into the night UK time, accept that the traditional 9-to-5 model might need a temporary, strategic adjustment to prevent burnout and sloppy CRM logging. Offer a flexible “Late-Night Pass. So, if a major game ends after 11:00 PM UK time, allow reps who hit their targets the previous day to start an hour later the next morning. It rewards performance, prevents morning sluggishness, and ensures that the hours they are at their desks are highly productive.
🎯 The Guru’s Prescription
Stop treating major tournaments as an administrative headache, and start treating them as a cultural lever for team engagement.
If you give your people trust, clear boundaries, and a way to earn their flexibility through raw performance, they will reward you with intense focus when it matters most. Define the expectations early, run a high-energy matchday sprint, and let your team win on the sales floor before England even takes the pitch in the States.
*Disclaimer: At the time of publication, England is still in the competition.
