Practice Management

 I once met a consultant who helps cities bid for the Olympic games.  As part of the bid preparation, he conducted surveys of the general public to determine their attitudes and opinions about the Olympic Games and the prospect of them being hosted in their country. 

He told me about a Russian truck driver who essentially said,"I love watching the Olympics on TV.  It inpires me.  I am too old to compete, and I don't have any sporting talent, but to see the Olympicans work so hard to meet their goals, it inspires me to be the best truck driver I can be."

While citizens' opinions vary about whether they want the games in their city, he found one common thread -people are attracted to the Olympics because it inspires them to reach for their goals, to be the best truck driver, the best fast order cook or the best lawyer they can be.    

While the individual performances of the 2008 Olympic Games have been sensational and inspirational, I know that behind every Olympian is team of professionals all focused on maximizing performances at the games.  For every gold medal swimmer or sprinter, there is a team of coaches, a national governing body that provides many levels of competition and training opportunities, sponsors and funders, family and friends, National Olympic Governing Bodies, and a host of other people and organizations that provide the structure and support for Olympic success.  In fact, many sport governing bodies (like USA Swimming or USA Track and Field) have research and training departments that just focus on maximizing performance - finding the strategy or tactic that can give the athlete the split-second advantage that sometimes separates a medalist from fourth place.

What inspired you from the 2008 Olympics?  One inspiration, for me, was Michael Phelps' comment, "Eat. Sleep.  Swim."  For a kid with ADHD, the focus on his goal and the discipline to practice inspired me to focus on my goals and the disciplines I need to reach them.

Who is your coach?  What infrastructure have you developed or benefitted from to be a better leader?  Have you considered starting a leadership development program in your firm, or sending your practice group leaders to the Center for Creative Leadership?  Does your firm make available leadership coaches to their managing partners or other key leaders? 

Who are you coaching?  How are you sharing your experience, insight and encouragement with others?