6 minute read
Sport
What can the world of sport offer
business?
People talk about mixing business with pleasure but what about mixing business and sport?
Can business learn
anything from the sports world? The answer is a resounding yes. There is significant crossover and it is of little surprise that so many sportsmen and women are asked to give motivational and leadership speeches to the business community.
From the world of rugby, former England captain Will Carling and World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodwood have for many years provided inspirational talks to the business world on teamwork, strategy, communication, planning and execution.
UK-based, human performance experts PlanetK2 point out that as much as 90% of an elite athlete’s time is spent preparing and just 10% doing the job.
Clearly no company could duplicate this, but according to PlanetK2, there’s still too much of an obsession with ‘doing’ in the business world at the expense of planning and understanding. Rather than be innovative, too often the preference within a company is to play safe and do things as they have always been done. It seems business can learn a lot from sport and a host of sports names, from Sally Gunnell and Steve Cram; to Roger Black and Mark Foster regularly provide insight to business audiences on how their focus and application led them to worldwide success.
In the same way as an athlete will methodically plan to achieve a desired result; so too should a business.
The same attributes – resilience, nerve, commitment and clarity of purpose that apply in sport are essential in both the boardroom and the workplace.
Unlocking potential
Managing people is a skill that applies on both sides too. Anyone who has seen Sir Alex Ferguson’s presentation to Harvard Business School will know just how insightful the former Manchester United manager is when it comes to reading people and unlocking potential.
If you haven’t seen it, give it a watch. He talks about managing fear (something that despite the tough guy persona applied as much to him as anyone else); of having a clear philosophy but at the same time being able to play different roles at different times. One approach of player management might be suitable for one person but not for another. It is about grasping what makes people tick and then acting on that knowledge.
Motivation is at the core of people management and though we are familiar with the tales of players being the ‘hairdryer treatment’ when they did not perform to an expected standard; Sir Alex stresses the importance of praise and recognition. “You have to recognise the contributions made on a regular basis by the people, in a way, you depend on.”
He also talks about complacency being the ‘biggest disease’ to success in both sport and business and he uses the Ryder Cup in Medinah in 2012 as an example of complacency taking root and then spreading at speed. The US team were leading 10pts to 6pts going into the last day and only needed 4 ½ points to win out of a possible 12 points. But they ended up losing.
As Sir Alex explained the sole focus for the European team was simple – win the first match – that was all they could do, start well and see what pressure they could then exert. The message was kept simple – the rest is history.
But what Sir Alex was keen to point out was that clarity of purpose at key moments and good leadership can often achieve amazing results. “No matter what industry you are in, whether football or finance or a doctor in a hospital, leadership qualities are similar”.
Insights are clearly transferable, evidenced by the fact that Sir Alex was drafted in by Paul McGinley to give his Europe team an inspirational talk before the Ryder Cup in 2014.
But it is not just transferable between sports, Tony Blair when Prime Minister called on Sir Alex (a long-term Labour supporter) to impart advice on leadership.
Getting people’s attention
Sound advice on communication, teamwork, trust, empowerment and commitment (as well as a host of other attributes) can be provided by people from all backgrounds but a widely admired sports star is likely to have more pulling power than, say, the marketing director of Epsom Salts PLC.
Also, in terms of promotion of a brand or specific product, sportsmen and women are able to provide huge recognition partly via endorsements but also acting as ‘brand ambassadors’ Olympic heptathlon champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill publicly supported an e-bike share project in Leicester sponsored by Santander for who Ennis-Hill is a brand ambassador.
Working together Ennis-Hill and Santander were able to provide a tangible benefit to a local city.
Loyalty and wellbeing
Sport also plays an important role within a company. In terms of recruitment morale and retention of staff. Companies that provide facilities for sport and support team competitions often have a head start over others.
This is by no means a new phenomenon. There are works teams throughout Europe. Manchester United used to be called Newton Heath, and the team originated from a group of employees who worked for the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.
Arsenal were originally a team made up of armaments factory workers in Woolwich in south- east London. And West Ham were formed by a foreman at the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company.
Given the size of these workforces, it is not surprising that they were able to put together such strong teams that would ultimately become professional outfits.
Fast forward to 2022 and many companies still have ‘works’ teams, whether they be insurance companies, banks, British Airways, BBC or even the House of Commons with its· All-Party Parliamentary Football Club Group.
Not only is this beneficial in terms of health and fitness but it also helps to break down barriers and improve communication within an organisation – employees of different pay grades and different departments coming together in a non-office environment.
Symbiotic relationship
Sport and business can clearly learn from one another but to a large extent they are reliant too. Many involved in minority sports are dependent on sponsorship deals – otherwise they simply couldn’t compete let alone train.
The flipside is that large corporates fight over sponsorship and advertising deals for major sports team or events – the global exposure a brand receives at an Olympic Games or a World Cup is colossal.
But it is not just about global branding building, in many instances it is about local relationships with both fans and businesses.
In this issue of Masthead, the owner of Charlton Athletic, Thomas Sandgaard talks about how football clubs and sponsors can partner more effectively, identify new growth opportunities and significantly boost revenue and profile.
