I love the Olympics.
Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed the idea of the world's best athletes putting aside their daily differences and coming together in the spirit of sportsmanship and community.
The popular notion is that it takes 10 years and 10,000 hours to reach expert level underscores the amount of commitment it takes to reach Olympian-caliber expertise.
Resilience is a key attribute of the most successful Olympic Athletes.
Goal setting and continuous improvement are foundational to attaining ambitious goals.
The Olympics represent the pinnacle of athletic achievement, showcasing the dedication, discipline, and determination of athletes from around the globe. But beyond the arena of sports, the Olympics offers valuable lessons for business and leadership.
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Let's talk about five things the Olympics teach us about business, leadership, and service.
VISIONARY GOAL SETTING
To reach the caliber of Olympian, you must set ambitious, seemingly unattainable goals. Goals that many will tell you are impossible, but that you pursue anyway with a sense of adventure and self-assuredness. Business leaders must often chart a course toward a new or innovative direction that inspires action. As we continue to transition toward a customer-centric culture, there are still those who insist that a great product is enough. The organizations that keep the focus on the overall experience and sense of service will find it much easier to build loyalty and advocacy with customers.
LEARNING FROM FAILURE
Athletes often face setbacks and challenges along their journey. They must also bring a sense of adaptability and resilience if they are to be successful.
Think about it, the best baseball players don't get on base 70% of the time (that is still a .300 batting average). But they learn from each at bat about where their strengths lie and how to mitigate their weaknesses.
When you think about leadership, you must be curious above all else. Your spirit of empathy and innovation are both fueled by curiosity beyond yourself and an approach of continuous learning. When you can learn from failures and apply that knowledge quickly, while not wallowing in self-doubt, you can harness a powerful source of iteration and adaptability.
TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION
Team sports highlight the importance of working together toward a common goal. Even individual athletes don't get there alone - there is a team of coaches and trainers supporting them behind the scenes. The ability to work within a group and ensure everyone's voice is heard can bring impactful results to a team. It is an easy to see the transferrable lessons here - you can't do it alone. The best organizations create teams that mesh culturally and complement each other. Finding the right people for the right role is a crucial part of building teams that deliver high quality customer experiences. Leaders who prioritize communication, teamwork, and recognition have the greatest success of building high performing teams.
PURUIT OF CONSISTENT EXCELLENCE
Olympians are the personification of excellence. The slightest error in angle from the springboard, a double fault at the wrong time, or a mistimed relay hand off can make the difference between gold and no medal at all. I was watching the 4x100 meter swimming relay and thy commented that the difference between a winning and losing exchange was one tenth of a second. That is a thin margin indeed. In business, execution matters. One of the foundational pieces of "experience" is quality (along with hospitality, safety, simplicity, and inclusivity). In today's competitive marketplace the margin for error continues to shrink and the expectations of customers continues to grow. That means that every service moment is an opportunity to win a customer for life (or lose one). Ensure the fundamentals are well in hand through robust team training and engagement.
EMRACING FAIR PLAY
The Olympic spirit is grounded in fair play and integrity. We have all seen what has happened to counties who disregarded the rules. You have probably also seen athletes from various countries supporting each other along the way, win or lose. This is one of the key things that we can learn from sports in general - there are rules to the game and if you don't follow them, you can be excluded from the game. Business leaders often learn this story too late or after being caught behaving unethically. You only need to look to the news to see financial institutions and big tech companies who have not behaved in accordance with their values and the impact that has had on their business and the people who were counting on them. As corny as it sounds, when you do the right thing, even when no one is looking, it pays long-term dividends in trust.
Repairing your reputation or lost trust with customers is a tough thing, so take care.
The Olympic Games are not only a source of entertainment but of inspiration as well. By adapting these principles of goal setting, ethics, vision, excellence, and learning, you can cultivate an environment of innovation and success.
This will be seen in customer and employee retention, sales growth, and your overall reputation in the marketplace.
Tony Johnson
* Written by a real human, not A.I.
Tony is an award winning speaker and author on the topics of sales growth, customer experience, and leadership. Tony speaks to thousands annually and has been featured on ABC News and Fox News. He is available for business planning, motivational keynotes, leadership workshops, and employee service skills training.
Tony is the founder of Ignite Your Service and the Chief Experience Officer for 4xi Global Consulting.
Tony is available to help with your Customer Experience and Employee Engagement Strategies, inspirational keynote talks, team training and development, and executive leadership coaching.
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