Business Lessons We Can Learn From the #Olympics

There have been so many news stories coming out of the Olympics – those focusing on the athletes, their personal lives, and the countries they represent. And of course, there are the news stories about the commentators and the media, both traditional and social, and all the good, bad and ugly that that represents.

As today is my turn to submit a blog post, I thought we’d share some business lessons we can learn from the Olympics.

1. Sometimes no matter how much you plan and prepare, you can’t always account for all circumstances. Always have a back-up plan. Green pool, for instance.
2. Stick to your talking points. This information is provided to you so that you have all the information at your fingertips.  And it is ok to refer to your notes.
3. In a crisis situation, keep your cool and respond quickly and appropriately.
4. Respect diversity – you don’t have to agree with it, but you should respect the differences.
5. Always be transparent, good or bad. The truth is always the best approach.
6. In the Olympics, we only see the end result. We don’t get to see the years of training, practice and preparation that goes into becoming a success. It’s often that way in the business world, too.
7. If you make a mistake, own up to it. We can be very forgiving when someone admits a mistake and moves forward from it.
8. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but every Olympic athlete will have had to make many mistakes within their career. They have to train every day to perfect their sport, but that doesn’t come without many failures. Businesses will make mistakes, but they can’t give up. They have to learn from them so they don’t make the same mistake again.
9. Success is a team sport. You may have your own goals, but when you succeed so does the whole team.

What lessons can you apply to your business?