The yo-yo test

Today, the Indian cricket team wears a lean and mean look. A diving Jadeja, a reflexive Rahane, the sprinting Dhoni, Manish Pandey, or the chiseled Kohli, Pandya, Rahul, and Bumrah. It wasn’t always like that though.

It all started in mid-2016, when Coach Kumble, fitness man Shankar, and Captain Kohli made the Yo-Yo Test (with a high 16:1 as cut-off) as the selection standard. Nobody could be on the team without acing it. No one was spared. Then regulars, Yuvraj and Raina, were amongst the first to miss out. And with time, the cut-off for Yo-yo was increased. While amidst criticism (“Players are here to play cricket, not build bodies” said some former experts), it did wonders.

We, at OfBusiness, have adopted the same methodology to profitability. Each transaction done in the company has to meet a margin cut-off, else it’s just dropped. And the margin matrix increases with vintage for each team and product. This ensures that all units of the org, be it regional, team, product, or salesperson, look brilliant.

The enemy of the yo-yo method is to adopt a portfolio approach, wherein you are ok with some below the cut-off, because there are stars to make-up. We ain’t ok with it as stars soon become prima-donnas and managing them lowers company growth in all respects.