Think Like an Olympian

 

      Whenever the Olympics roll around we seem to get inundated with Olympic thinking and Gold Medal coaching articles. This year is no different, yet one article that caught my eye was written by an actual Olympian, not some journalists take on the Olympic mindset. Shannon Bahrke Happe is not only a three time Olympian she is a successful business owner. She shared with Entrepreneur.com the top 10 things she learned while training for the Olympics that can just as easily be applied to running a successful business. Happe launched Silver Bean Coffee Company with her then fiance (now husband) Matt during some down time recovering from an injury. When you build your passion into your company you don’t have to buy into someone else’s dream, you can create your own. Building anything that’s going to have some staying power takes work and commitment whether it’s a relationship or an international company. The stakes may be different but the process is very similar. Here are her top ten lessons.

1.       Always have goals but make sure they are measurable. Begin with the end in mind and work backwards breaking the goal into smaller monthly and daily goals. Remember inch by inch it’s a cinch.

2.       Don’t get so blinded by the goal that you don’t enjoy the sights along the way. Some of the greatest lessons and certainly the best stories are from the journey.

3.       No matter whom you are speaking with don’t let your ego get too big to say please and thank you, with a smile.

4.       Surround yourself with the best and brightest.  IF you don’t know it, hire it.

5.       If you don’t believe in yourself no one else will. When those doubts creep in, and they will recommit 100%.

6.       Winners are those committed to the whole process, not just the fun stuff. The difference is often in doing the things others are not willing to do, or haven’t thought to do.

7.       Running yourself ragged doesn’t bring the gold. Rest and relaxation are just as important and can give you renewed perspective.

8.       Take care of yourself, seriously. Get enough rest, eat properly and stay hydrated to stay on top.

9.       Winning is great, but be humble. Especially in the Olympics, anything can happen and seconds can knock you off the podium. So be a gracious loser as well.

1.   You must once and for all get rid of your fear of failure. “To truly achieve greatness you must be 100 percent committed to either succeeding beyond your wildest dreams or going down in a great big ball of flames!”

 

              So as we all watch these Olympics with story after story of both the thrill of victory and agony of defeat we must remember that these athletes do not exist in a vacuum. Behind every athlete is a supportive network of people that they relied on to get where they are. No one succeeds alone. So as business people I ask who is in your network cheering you onto the finish. If you haven’t built your network yet it’s never too late. Being in business can be lonely. Building a support system of fellow professionals that can pick up a flag and wave you to the finish line is great for the health of your business. Because building a healthy business is smart marketing.

Olympic Leadership

     Can you be a great marketer if you aren't a great leader? I think the two go hand in hand. If you are an ineffective leader who will follow you? Who will pay attention to your message. Who will find value in what you do and what you offer? I subscribe to a newsletter from Strategies founder Neil Ducoff called Monday morning wake up. Like so many inspired by the Olympics Ducoff took this opportunity learn from these top athletes and coaches. What lessons can we learn from these athletes?

     Every athlete has a trusted team, a coach and mentor that believes in him when his belief has evaporated. There are no team events, individual medals in business, the pace of business is constant. But to be a top athlete, or business marketer in the first place what strategies do we need in place? What does it take to be at the top? You are the founder, ceo and director of YOU incorporated. Whether you are a one person operation or leading many employees Ducoff suggests these strategies to become an Olympic leader.

      Focus on the gold medal. What is your gold medal? What drives your purpose? What is it you are trying to achieve every day, good days and bad? Money and survival are not enough. Being best in class is, having top customer service and outstanding client experience can be your gold medal. What's worthy of all the things you sacrifice every moment of the work day, day in and day out? What's worthy of never giving up? Figuring out your gold medal brings focus and purpose to your efforts.

     You must have self leadership. Be self driven and self motivated. You are the soundtrack for your company, what tunes are your clients hearing? What tunes are your employees hearing? What song is stuck in your head? You must perfect your sound. You must control your emotions and attitude to be the example of what you expect in others. Hold yourself to a higher standard of living out your business goals and dreams. You cannot expect to be followed if you are not the compass, showing fairness, and integrity and shades of greatness to those around you. Be accountable to yourself and others and expect the same in return. The little white lies we tell ourselves can destroy us. There is no winning when we kid ourselves in believing success takes less than Olympic effort.

      Be persistent and unrelenting. So many times when we push ourselves or others, we get pushed back. It's easy to dial things back, things get tough, people are tough. Leading the pack is hard and challenging. But scaled back leaders run scaled back businesses. Persist, that's what leaders do.

      Weed out indifference. A mortal sin in business is an I don't care attitude. If you don't love your job, find another one, but don't show up every day hating it. Employers resent it, clients sense it and your family is tired of hearing about it. Get coaching, training, attitude acupuncture, whatever it takes but if you can't change your job, change your job. Weed out bad attitudes, bad employees, bad people you surround yourself with. Waiting for things to change without being the change is insanity.

     People do business with people they like, respect and have built a relationship with. That relationship has to have value. Leaders create value. The cost of no relationship can cost you your business. Set a pace for yourself that you can comfortably maintain, but never allow yourself to get too comfortable. Reaching for greatness can be exhausting work, but the gold medal... all worth it.