What Can We Learn From The Olympics?

I believe we can learn a lot about life and business from sports. What better example than the Olympics that just ended a 17 day extravaganza. I know of no other time when the world joins together under one umbrella to compete against each other on equal terms simply for the joy of sport. Read more.

There are many parallels that can be drawn between the Olympics and business. It all starts with a business proposal from cities with comprehensive plans to host the games. Mistakes in the planning can mean financial disaster, so every contingency must be taken into account in the business plan. Do we do this in our own business? We should!

One cannot help but admire the dedication of the athletes. They train tirelessly for 4 years to win the honour of representing their country in their chosen sport. There is no better example of the word dedication. To be successful in business we must be dedicated in the same way as an Olympic athlete.

Rarely can athletes achieve their goals on their own. They need professionals to help them realize their potential. Business requires the same support to be successful.

There must be trust in others for these athletes to reach their goals. They must rely on a team of coaches, training partners and medical professions to help them reach their potential. Misplaced trust can spell disaster as witnessed by the triathlon athlete Paula Findlay. When her hip injury was mishandled by her team, they abandoned her in her hour of need to save face and pushed her to a disastrous result. Trust is a precious commodity that we must use carefully in business to ensure we don't suffer the same fate as Paula Findlay.

Finally, I think the most important lesson learned from the Olympics is to set goals and maintain the belief that you can achieve them. What better example of this than the Canadian Women's Soccer Team. When they lost every game in the world soccer match last year they made changes. First they hired a new coach and support team who taught them a new approach to the game. They began to believe in themselves again and set a goal for the Olympics to bring change to their sport in Canada.

They fought through adversity when the game against the USA was stolen from them. They could have easily thrown in the towel when met with the bias of the referee who affected the outcome of the game. However, they refocused on their goals and won a bronze medal against a better French team. Ultimately they achieve their goal, not to win gold, but to engage the next generation of Canadian youth in their sport.

We are constantly thrown curve balls that unfairly affect our business. These may include such things as the recent recession, new competition or suppressed economics in our region, none of which is of our own making or fault. We must keep our eye on our goals and make changes to achieve them as opposed to dwelling on our misfortunes. I believe this is how you reach success under any conditions.

I hope you had a chance to watch some or all of the Olympics because there were so many great stories. If you want help reaching your goals in business, contact me for a free consultation.