Your Business and the Olympics
…more teaching moments from the greatest sports event in the world with PPP updates next week.
“Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready” – Tri Bourne. Bourne was the replacement for Taylor Crabb on men’s beach volleyball when Crabb tested positive for covid. Bourne got the call with two days to prepare and was ready to play. Is your business always ready to play?
“12 Strong” – this was the motto of the US women’s volleyball team. They won gold by using the entire team. Every member played a part and in the end they swept Brazil for the first gold medal by the US women in that sport. Are you using your entire team? Are they all contributing and do they feel like they are all contributing?
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” – (Unknown; many attribute this to Benjamin Franklin). How many times have you heard that? if only we took it to heart. This time, the US men’s 4x100 relay didn’t even make it past the first qualifying round, placing 6th. And once again, it was the passing of the baton that let them down. Just because you put together an “A” team, if they don’t practice, you don’t get your best results. I have known too many business people who think they can win on talent alone. That will get you most of the deals, but it won’t get you the big deals. How often do you practice and do drills to make sure you leave nothing to chance?
“We have to focus on ourselves…” – Simone Biles. When was the last time you took a vacation or did something to recharge? Let’s compare your energy level after weeks of working on that big order as compared to after a week in Hawaii or even just a long weekend. Big difference. Take time to recharge; your employees and customers will notice.
“When I fell down I said to myself, OK life doesn't always go the way that you want” – Sifan Hassan, Dutch women’s 1500 meters runner. Hassan was tripped and fell down during the first heat of qualifying for the 1500 meters. Usually catastrophic and a race ending incident, she got up and ran to catch up with the rest of the pack winning that heat – truly remarkable. What do you do when things don’t go your way? Do you waste time pointing fingers or do you get back up and double your efforts?
“Next man up”. When Simone Biles stepped down, Sunisa Lee stepped up, and won gold in the individual all-around women’s gymnastics. That is a strong team. Who would step up for you? Can your team step up and carry the weight of a missing player?
“…all the hard work that we put in…” – The common phrase by every athlete interviewed. Being an Olympic class athlete doesn’t happen by chance, it happens by design. Are you putting in the hard work to excel in your company and at your company? Do you have “A” players? Or are you just getting by? Either is fine if that is your choice. But it is a choice.
Finally, and just because I am always rooting for the underdog, the following countries won their first medal ever:
Turkmenistan – women’s weightlifting
San Marino – trap shooting
Burkina Faso – (who knew this was a country?!) – men’s triple jump
And the countries that won their first gold medal ever:
Philippines – women’s weightlifting
Bermuda – women’s triathlon
Qatar – men’s weight lifting and men’s high jump
Citius, Altius, Fortius.
