Posted by Jon
The UKAPMP conference last month was an excellent event. Particularly memorable was the keynote speech by Olympic gold medal winning rower Katherine Grainger. Amidst much that was relevant to those of us trying to win business, there was one technique that really caught my imagination.
The UKAPMP conference last month was an excellent event. Particularly memorable was the keynote speech by Olympic gold medal winning rower Katherine Grainger. Amidst much that was relevant to those of us trying to win business, there was one technique that really caught my imagination.
Before taking gold this summer, Katherine had won silver at three successive Olympics. After Athens (2004), her coach encouraged them to look at every little “margin of difference” that they could make, to every aspect of their performance, to help them to improve and hence to win.
The result? An improvement on their times – but silver again in Beijing four years later. After that result, they tried a different approach: “we’re good enough to be Olympic champions: what could stop us?” – and then worked on those weaknesses, from a position of confidence, capturing glory at London 2012.
I’m going to borrow those techniques for future kick-off workshops, I think. How powerful to routinely ask the team to reflect on:
- what other things could we do – even the smallest changes to the plan and how we work – to maximise our chances of winning?
- we’re the best bidder – so what could stop us winning?
The result? An improvement on their times – but silver again in Beijing four years later. After that result, they tried a different approach: “we’re good enough to be Olympic champions: what could stop us?” – and then worked on those weaknesses, from a position of confidence, capturing glory at London 2012.
I’m going to borrow those techniques for future kick-off workshops, I think. How powerful to routinely ask the team to reflect on:
- what other things could we do – even the smallest changes to the plan and how we work – to maximise our chances of winning?
- we’re the best bidder – so what could stop us winning?
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