T-CUP

Winning Enterprise’s research has found that that winners are committed to a concrete, systematic and pragmatic thought pattern with distinct rules of do's and don'ts.

This pattern is called "Thinking Correctly Under Pressure" or T-CUP.

Players of The Winning Game are taught to think using these T-CUPs which break down into 12 simple rules:

  1. Avoiding unnecessary corners - How well and determinedly you avoid unnecessary or costly moves and actions which are likely to put you under unnecessary pressure and thus risk your desired success/achievement/assignment.
  2. Patience in creating opportunities - How much time and effort you are willing to invest in preparing and creating the basic conditions without which you may not accomplish your desired success.
  3. Seizing opportunities - The degree to which you commit yourself and optimize your personal/professional skills and experience in order to seize a given opportunity within the available timeframe.
  4. Awareness of faulty tactics/methods - Your ability to debrief, to realize and to admit within a reasonable timeframe that a specific tactic/method which you are utilizing is not generating the desired result.
  5. Sticking to basics – The basics are your safety net - the degree to which you follow and commit yourself to procedures, operating instructions, proven techniques, etc.
  6. Decisiveness - The degree to which your decision making process - and the actualization of your decisions, are free of unnecessary hesitations/doubts, over perfectionism, etc.
  7. Maintaining momentum - The degree of persistence with which you maintain your highest standards throughout your performance - including the steps you take aimed at preserving and protecting your achievements.
  8. Quality of counter pressure – When under pressure how well do you stop yourself from getting into a defensive mindset. How determined are you? How strong is your willpower?
  9. Level of self-control - In critical situations, how effective are you at mastering anxieties and stress. How well do you maintain one step ahead thinking aimed at considering the expected outcomes of your actions?
  10. Sticking to proven tactics - How strongly you adhere to proven, successful methods in critical situations.
  11. Thoroughness - The degree to which you are strict and orderly in completing your tasks.
  12. Time management - How well do you use your allotted time, quantitatively and qualitatively - how well do you arrange your given time frame upon clear preferences?
  
  • Winners maintain momentum by keeping the same level of performance throughout an activity, avoiding complacency and by securing their actual achievements before moving on to their next goal.
  • Winners maintain their quality of counter pressure by correctly identifying the nature of any one-on-one situation they are involved with and by countering pressure with will power.
  • Winners stick to basics by memorising the fundamental building blocks of their field of activity to overcome any psychological barriers and by not experimenting during critical moments.
  • Winners avoid unnecessary corners by mapping these corners against their given activity and constantly debriefing (by asking "am I trapping myself in a corner?" and "is this a corner?").
  • Winners seize opportunities by acting decisively during critical moments within the available timeframe.
  • Winners are being decisive by moving fast enough between making a decision and actualising it and by quickly prioritising their options against their "corners" to avoid them.
  • Winners are being thorough by becoming practical perfectionists, striving for perfect results yet going for the best possible ones. They avoid short cuts by being strict and orderly in completing tasks.
  • Winners are aware of faulty tactics by never being afraid to say "Winners make mistakes but they never repeat them", not falling in love with their ideas and through constant debriefing.
  • Winners stick to proven tactics by resisting any temptation to change a proven method with something new, however creative it may be.
  • Winners maintain self control by reminding themselves that under pressure there is more time than they feel, adhering to T-CUP rules when negative thinking occurs and by being a noble winner.
  • Winners patiently create opportunities by investing the time to lay the foundations for their success, even if it is boring, tedious or repetitive.
  • Winners are managing their time by being continually aware of the available timeframe, prioritising their tasks and splitting large tasks into small chunks whilst committing to any deadlines.
 
Distributed under license by THE WINNING GAME LLP (a partnership between Winning Scotland Foundation, TPLD Ltd. and Winning Enterprises (Achievement Oriented Training Systems) Ltd.