by murray on March 3, 2014
I just returned from the Masters Skiing World Championships in Austria where 2000 athletes age 30 and over competed in four races over eight days. The masters competition is a wonderful mix of world class athletes, avid competitive athletes and average fitness athletes. It is open to all and thus a mix of skiers of all abilities and ages… the oldest being an 89 year old Russian who looked 65!
Immersed in this competitive environment for 10 days was challenging, stimulating, stressful and fun and it made me think about the many organizations I work for with similar environments. Working without pressure would be unproductive, working without fun would be a drag, working without stimuli and challenge would be boring.
My newest presentation “Game On! World Class Performance” is build around this theme of using pressure to enhance performance, creating an environment that is fun and rewarding, and always looking for new ways to be efficient, productive and competitive. It is a blend of my previous keynotes with a twist emphasizing “never be comfortable with good; never settle for “doing well”: always seek exceptional performance.
While many employees would like to have consistency, comfort and status quo, we know world class means getting out of the comfort zone, being imaginative and innovative in how we do our work and pushing ourselves beyond what we would ordinarily choose to do. After 30 years of competition, and racing at world championships in two sports, I changed my training techniques and racing tactics to ratchet up my level of performance. I learned new skills and had to let go of old training concepts… it was exciting and challenging. Three of the races came down to a sprint for gold and were painful and exhilarating at the same time! World Class Performance comes at a price… but the reward far exceeds the discomfort.
by murray on February 13, 2012
I recently had the opportunity to keynote an “All Hands” meeting for a company in Boston. They had a great theme, “It’s Showtime!” and wanted me to present the closing keynote titled “Game On!” It all centered around their focus of moving the company to the next level in the international market - I loved it! This is a young, vibrant company with dynamic leadership and a strong culture of success. My background in sports was a natural fit and we collaborated to create a keynote around three key points: when you work long hard hours, you need to keep your life in balance; success in today’s world takes adaptability, imagination and resilience; and stay focused on the outcome you want, not the obstacles.
“It’s Showtime” is what I feel every time I step on the stage for a speech and each time I step up to the line in a competition. Last March at the skiing world championship, I had the same feeling we tried to convey at this company meeting… years of preparation, planning and goal setting are behind us, now it’s Game On! I like the intense concentration required for both racing in the world championships and presenting a keynote before 100’s of people.
In the months leading up to the world championship, I envisioned myself in the lead pack as we approached the finish. I knew the last several kilometers would be intense as we climbed the final hills toward the stadium, so I prepared with tough training sessions with better athletes. One of the key points of the recent keynote was “what you focus on, expands.” My focus in the race was on skiing as relaxed, smooth and powerful as possible, to be in the lead pack, ready to sprint for the gold at the finish. I had hoped to be in the front with 8 kilometers to go, but got tangled up with the Russian skier and lost valuable seconds. Working my way through the pack, back up to the lead took a great deal of energy so I drafted along just behind the leader for a brief rest. With 3 kilometers to go, on a long, tough hill, the Austrian skier in the lead faltered and I made the move… it was a grueling 8 minutes of climbing up to the finish, but rather than focusing on the pain, I focused on efficiency and power. And, the goal of sprinting for gold in the stadium.
In our work, we have a better shot at success when we focus on the outcome we want, toughen up when needed, get rest and play to keep our balance and stay agile and resilient when change comes our way. It’s Game On, time to be at our best when it counts!
