The Paris Olympics and us
The 2024 Olympic games are about to get underway in Paris today. The games are a celebration of the very best of the best athletes in a wide variety of sporting disciplines.
Before the starting gun or the commencement of the competition, many will have spent years of extreme dedication to perfecting their performance, both in body and in mind. A healthy and well-trained body without the winner’s mindset and a healthy approach to competition is unlikely to achieve a win.
Being part of something bigger
At the same time as showing up as individuals with goals that are only theirs to know and focus on, each athlete stands behind its country flag, being part of something bigger. Behind all of these country flags is the unifying flag of the Olympics, where everyone participates as part of the celebration of an ancient competition.
Tonight marks the opening ceremony for the first time not held in a stadium but in the streets of central Paris, amongst the people and celebrating all that is good about the Olympics within the community.
What struck me as I thought of about what is coming up over the days ahead of us is just how similarly we do our daily work.
We perfect our skills as experts in our chosen disciplines whether that is as a coder, a business analyst, a recruitment specialist in a tech specialism, an accountant, an IT expert, a marketing specialist, an HR professional. We all come together to deploy these skills in open competition with other competitors in the market.
We unite behind the services that make us famous, just like the athletes do in their equestrian, athletics or diving teams and we come together under our brand flags of NashTech, Harvey Nash, Flexhuis, Spinks, Crimson and Talent-IT.
Just like tonight’s opening ceremony, we work within our communities around the world to share our expertise and help those who need us in so many ways. Being part of the community is core to who we are.
The worlds of work and sport
I recently interviewed an Olympics silver medallist diver, who during the games will be heard as the commentator on diving events. I asked him questions about the comparisons between the world of work and athletes preparing for and competing in the games.
The article will be published very soon, so I won’t share too much of what he said. But, what came over loud and clear, is the many ways in which business colleagues and athletes follow similar paths to excellence and can learn from each other.
Marginal gains is one such example that you may well have heard of in sport or indeed within the area of business you work in today. Small incremental improvements in our performance can yield incredible results, something athletes strive for every day.
Please do look out for the article. I loved speaking with him.
If you are lucky enough to attend the games in person, I wish you a wonderful experience. It’s not every day we get to see world beating performances come to life in a stadium. If, like me, you will be cheering from your armchair I hope you enjoy it.