Ask an Expert: What it takes to be an Olympian
— -- Q: What is you favorite part of the Olympics? Mine was the diving. — Jamie
A: What if I said, "the shoes"? I'll explain why in a moment, but let's first acknowledge that there are all sorts of things that one could take away from the recently concluded Olympic Games: That London really knows how to put on a great show, and there is nothing "amateur" about the Olympics any longer; it is big business.
But whether it was watching Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's speed and ego, or U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas' incredible talent and smile, I must say that watching the Olympics left me, at least from a business perspective, with but one conclusion: Nike never fails to take full advantage of an opportunity.
In athletics, as in life and business, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. As such, it might just behoove us to take a look at what these athletes do and how they do it and take a page out of their book. And because what they do is so remarkable, let's take a look at how they become remarkable.
Doing what they do best: Almost every one of these athletes started out at a young age with their sport. Then they found they were passionate about it, and also were very good at it, and then they began to put in the time necessary to become great at it.
But it begins with following their passion. So, too, in business, so, too, in entrepreneurship. It is hard to imagine becoming a world-class anything unless you really loved that thing.
Putting in 10,000 hours: That these athletes put in an incredible amount of time preparing for their moment at the Olympics is obvious. In the book "Outliers, The Story of Success," Malcolm Gladwell writes, "To become a grandmaster also seems to take about 10 years. (Only the legendary Bobby Fisher got to that elite level in less than that amount of time: it took him nine years.) And what's 10 years? Well, it's roughly how long it takes to put in 10,000 hours of hard practice. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness."
Gladwell argues that to really excel at something — be it sports or chess or business — requires a commitment of that many hours and many years. Certainly we see that in these athletes, and I bet you see that in your business.
Loving the destination, yes, but also the journey: For me, it was difficult to appreciate what Michael Phelps did until I began to watch the other athletes, the ones who were overjoyed at winning a single bronze medal for instance. For them, that is the pinnacle of success in their sport, and rightly so. What Phelps did is almost otherworldly.
But I think we can also assume that for almost all of these athletes, while winning is great, the journey probably is as well. Sure, it is hard work, but we all work hard. And you can only be willing to work that hard if getting there stokes your fire.
Letting the competition raise your game: Needless to say, Olympic athletes compete, not only against themselves, but against the competition. And you don't get to be the best unless the competition, and your competitive juices, take your game to another level.
Finally, while they were not an Olympic athlete, did anyone have a better Olympics than Nike? Though not an official sponsor, Nike was omnipresent in the London Games, mainly because of those cool, impossible-to-miss neon green shoes the competitors all seemed to be wearing.
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