What the handball of Thierry Henry teaches us…
Tags: handball, long term, short term, thierry henry
I am French so I am a fanatic supporter of France but what happened on Wednesday can teach us a lot.
Yes Thierry Henry made a handball, and yes it was on purpose.
On the short term, France fans are happy because their team is going to be in the world cup. French players, French broadcasters…almost everybody in France says: “sorry for that but at least we qualified”.
I think the handball of Thierry Henry is a short term solution. On one hand it pleases everybody and qualifies a big football nation.
But on the long run it harms the reputation of Thierry Henry, of France and the benefits of qualifications will be forgotten in 2/3 years, but the hand of Henry won’t be.
So what it teaches us? Taking the shortest route to success is not the best option and even the worst on the long run:
yes you chose to start this high-paid job but on the long run, you won’t develop the skills to work in your dreamed job.
You want to get ASAP a job, but it is completely the opposite to your goal or your long term career plan, but you opt for this route.
You decided to write this article highly controversial, it will get instant fame and recognition but what about the long term?
The question is always long term vs short term.
When I go shopping to buy food, I always eat beforehand. Why?
Because if I eat before shopping, I will buy only things that I need to feed my family, and if I don’t eat before, I will buy anything like sweets/cakes to fulfill my hunger, and I will buy less long term things but more short term food.
So I do understand that when you are looking for a job, you can be desperate, but be careful about this effect of choosing the short term against the long term. Is this job really for you? Am I getting away from my goal?
Should I take any job?
Sometimes it seems a good short term solution but what about the long term??
Valentine said:
Nov 20, 09 at 10:15 amYour answered my question,thanks !
Valentine : internship researcher !
Olivier said:
Nov 20, 09 at 11:32 amCan we really think nowadays about the long term when we speak about a job? The average duration of a CEO in a company is around 3 years… what about employees? Long term strategies for most companies are based on 3 or 4 year plan. Maybe we should review the definition of long and short term! :-p
However, I fully agree with the questions “Is this job really for you?” and “Am I getting away from my goal?”. To me, the only point is the goal, whatever the time line is.
Titi said:
Nov 20, 09 at 9:30 pmLa main de thierry HENRY
Joseph Noone said:
Nov 21, 09 at 9:20 amWhat Thierry Henry’s handball teaches us is that as always, some people are more than ready to accept that the end justifies the means, that results are more important than rules and that what you get is more important than how you get it. In business, there is no easy route and success requires hard work, determination, persistence, learning from your mistakes, honesty. However, as recent events have shown, some people are more than willing to adopt the same approach as Thierry Henry, only the consequences are far greater. What do you say to a student caught cheating in final year school exams? What do you say to an adolescent caught stealing? All societies are based on values such as honesty and hard work but the message coming from the people who defend Thierry Henry’s handball is that it’s acceptable to bend the rules and cheat. We are in sport as we are in life and it would seem that some people (not representative of the silent majority) are ready to explain that it’s ok to cheat if the result justifies it.
Laurent Brouat said:
Nov 24, 09 at 1:56 pmJoseph, I disagree with you because accidents happen in life as well…we can’t say that because Henry made a handball, he is a cheater and supports some (bad) values. I am geeting tired of all the people shouting out there whereas they don’t look in their own backyard. Values are important, yes, Long term vs short term, but at the same time, failure happens and accidents as well. How far are we ready to welcome mistakes, accidents or failure? That is another value.
Gregory Geny said:
Nov 25, 09 at 4:20 pmHaving read your article, I am a bit puzzled as to the cognitive link between Thierry Henry’s hand ball and – say – long term career plan or eating before doing your food shopping (sounds more like a tip from Martin @ MoneySaving Expert.com in my opinion) .
Fact – Thierry Henry did touch the ball with his hand before passing it to Gallas – who ultimately scored the goal that qualified us.
Fact – One might choose a high-paid job that might not help them develop the skills needed to get their ideal job.
Fact – You should never do your food shopping on an empty stomach. That being said, junk food is nice every now and again.
If you were to ask Henry whether or not he would have let that happened, had he known the short and long term consequences for him, his reputation, his image, his advertising and sponsorship deals – he would have stayed away from the ball.
In your example, you talk about conscious decisions where an individual has had the time to think about the best option available to him/her. Thierry Henry’s hand ball was pure instinct (i.e. He didn’t have 5 min to think about it).
If your article had been about Henry deciding to play for – say – a team in Qatar, because of the money rather than the personal and professional challenge he would have had playing for one of the big European teams, I would have said fair enough! But a hand ball is a hand ball…and in Henry’s case, was pure instinct.
How many players, knowing they are off-side, keep playing and score in the Premier league every year?
How many centre forwards end up on their backside in the 6 yards box (courtesy of a defender pulling their shirt of clipping their foot)? How many centre forwards dive every game (Drogba to name just a few)? These players – you can have a go at. Not only do they have the time to think about what they are about to do, but they also keep doing it….game after game.
Has that hand ball taught me anything? Yes – that people have way too much time on their hands (no pun intended of course)
gabrielanselme said:
Nov 27, 09 at 7:28 ambien dit, mais a t on toujours le choix?