Are You A “Business” Olympian?

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are right around the corner! I’ve always been amazed at what it takes for an athlete and their teams to succeed. As a former amateur athlete myself and a successful business executive, I can really appreciate all the training, preparation and commitment it takes to be successful as an Olympian…the best of the best. I’ve been fortunate to attend both the 1996 Summer and the 2002 Winter Olympics to see this first hand.

Imagine if you will…working on one goal, one dream, everyday for at least four years and having it come down to an event that in some cases only lasts for a few precious seconds. All that blood, sweat and tears to see if you get the gold medal…and either the glory is yours or you go home without the prize. Incredible isn’t it? Just look at what Michael Phelps has achieved.

These participants share key qualities: intense discipline, focus, world-class training, the will/determination to succeed and a passion about their future. And these are the same qualities we need as business leaders within our organizations. The only major difference is Olympic athletes have coaches around them everyday, helping them keep these critical qualities in front of the athlete’s mind as they go for the gold. In coaching my sales clients over the years I’ve always told them they were like athletes. The only difference is that as industry leaders, you wear a different uniform and play on a different field. But like these athlete, you need to incorporate the same use of discipline, focus, world-class training, the will to succeed and the ability to have fun. Learning your business, practicing your “art”, growing and executing will deliver the desired results and give you peak performance.

Let’s look at these qualities to see how you can incorporate them into your organizations:

1. Discipline: You need discipline in your work habits and helping you turn bad habits into productive habits in performing your genius work and discipline in your vision of what you want, where you want to be and how to get there.
2. Focus: What are your goals? What are your company’s goals? Are they compatible? Are they attainable? Define your mission statement and the steps to help you achieve your company’s success.
3. Proper Training: The Olympic athlete trains to achieve their ultimate goal. They train, train and then train some more. Can you apply this mind-set to your career? The Olympian goes over the same training techniques, again and again and again…it’s called developing the basics to toning their mental muscle. I’m sure you’ve heard “we need to get back to the basics” before, there is a reason why. Are those on your team trained to perform like this? What are you doing to train and grow the “mental muscle” of your teams?
4. Have Fun: Let’s face it, we spend more time at work than we do at home so make sure you either love what you do (be passionate) or make your work environment a rewarding experience. It’s not that hard to do…it’s all about attitude and altitude!

TPPTip: Being an Olympic athlete is not much different than being an “Olympic” business athlete. Just adapt these four principles to your business acumen and watch your success and your organization grow! Good luck!

About the author: Andrew Botieri is the founder of Total Peak Performance®, a business coaching and sales training company with over 55,000 hours of coaching and training companies and sales professionals around the country. Andrew was former Vice President of Sales & Operations for AllApartments/SpringStreet.com, now Move.com; “Turnaround Specialist” and National Sales Trainer for HPC Publications and a published author. His new book “A Celebration of Life- A Story of Hope, A Miracle & the Power of Attitude” is available on his website www.andrewbotieri.com. or on Amazon. To email him: andrew@ andrewbotieri.com