Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?: Olympic-winning Strategies for Everyday Success - Second Edition

We’ve talked about measurability before – remember the chapter on layered goals? Or the bit in the motivation chapter about creating milestones? We’ll keep banging the drum about this. If the team goal is measurable then it’s super clear to everyone when they’ve achieved it or progressing towards it. If it isn’t obvious, they’ll lose momentum.

What have you done recently that’s made you proud? •Brought in a project on time and budget? •Helped a team member get promoted? •Learnt to play a musical instrument? What have you done that’s given you a buzz? •Been on a superb night out? •Negotiated an awesome deal? •Given a presentation in front of a high-stakes audience? Whatever the experience

Beliefs: Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re probably right.

What specific events do you face that would benefit from specific rules?

There were some interesting features of the crew’s team rules that we would do well to follow: 2a. They were developed by the crew 2b. They were specific 2c. They were constantly discussed 2d. They were simple 2e. Everyone understood them

The British 8 won gold at Sydney by a margin of 0.8 seconds. When the margin between success and failure is that narrow, it’s no wonder they thought long and hard about what they could control. Ben: “You have to do everything because you don’t know what will make the difference.”

Another advantage of being a team member is that we have a chance of winning even if we’re not the absolute best. Ben: “To win in the pair you each have to be outstanding. To win in an eight you don’t individually have to be so good, I wasn’t good enough to be in the pair, but in the eight I could still win.”

The feeling of irritation was the red-light indicator on his mental dashboard that he needed to manage the pressure of the negotiation, rather than snipe at a poor random colleague.

what made Ben and the crew into a team as opposed to a collection of individuals? How did they get from being a rubbish team in 1998 to a gold medal winning one in 2000? Their strategies all boil down to two fundamentals: 1.Have a common goal 2.Agree how to behave around each other.