7 Olympic Lessons Learned
7 Olympic Lessons Learned
These are the key moments and lessons that apply to startups...
As we wrap the 2024 Paris Olympics, these 7 lessons learned are worthy candidates for this week’s newsletter.
You are here reading “Cook’s PlayBooks” so I’m doubling down on my “Business is a Sport” theme.
TOP 7 OLYMPIC LESSONS LEARNED:
Lesson 1 - Pace Yourself: Going Slower to Go Faster
Mens 1500M Olympic Gold. Cole Hocker was slow and steady and was able to go faster at the very end after going slower the rest of the race.
The quote above is from the leader and clear favorite from Norway. Both he and the other clear favorite, Josh Kerr, simply went out too fast and couldn’t finish. 2 seconds per lap too fast. They went faster and lost.
Don’t be the entrepreneur who burns the candle bright and goes too fast. The average time frame from Series A to IPO is now over 12 years. In 1999 the average company IPO’d in 4 years. Startups are now a long term race and journey. Playing the long game wins. Don’t burn yourself out too early. Slower and steadier have better “track records” vs “growth at all costs” sprinting companies.
Lesson 2 - One Hand In My Pocket: Experience Wins
Old guys’ experience and wisdom is valuable. Ok, fine… I’m biased!
Casey Woo also nailed it with his “Rookie vs Master” LinkedIn post just the other day:
This concept was also part of my post last week: #15 of Top Leadership Frameworks: Chief Juggling Officer
Importantly not all balls you are juggling are equal. Some are fragile (health, family, etc.) while others are more rubber and will likely bounce back up. Juggle your balls carefully and don’t juggle too many at a time.
I also must quote Alanis Morisette here. She sums it up so eloquently:
“And what it all comes down to
is that everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine.
'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket
and the other one is givin' a high five.”
Lesson 3 - Winning IS NOT everything. Community IS Everything
I ran into friend and neighbor Rene Lacerte (CEO Bill.com), and he reminded me of his recent LinkedIn post talking about how competitive Silicon Valley is.
Rene’s takeaway: “Take time to bow to greatness and then keep competing with them.”
Rene goes on to say “how you win” matters. I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve learned through Intuit, Netflix, and Mozilla that “communities win.” Communities definitely sit higher on the podium of life and business vs just “winning” a medal every once in a while.
Lesson 4 - Hire a Specialist When You Need One: Pommel Horse Guy
Lesson 5 - 2 KEY LESSONS: It’s How You Finish. Don’t Give Up! Don’t Ever Give Up!
It’s Not How You Start; It’s How You Finish. You can be last half way through the race and still win. Noah Lyles’ 100M was literally last at the 50m mark but the fastest runner over the final 50 meters.
Never Give Up! Don’t Ever Give Up. Noah Lyles simply believed he was faster than anyone else. Many others would have given up but Noah was the only contestant to LEAN IN at the 100 meter mark to win by 5/1000th of a second. Even Noah didn’t think he won. It took a photo finish to give him the Gold medal.
Leadership Lesson? Just believe in yourself, never give up, and lean in hard at the end of a major milestone or company project.
More on “Don’t Give Up! Don’t Ever Give Up!”
An all-time favorite leadership speech of mine is Jim Valvano’s speech. Valvano is famous for starting his Cancer “V Foundation” slogan of “Don’t Give Up! Don’t Ever Give Up!”
The following video is for those who either haven’t seen it or haven’t seen it in awhile is this “context setting” video from ESPN.
The full speech is here:
If you watched that, you might as well watch Stuart Scott’s speech. Stuart was the 2014 Jimmy V Award Winner.
”So, live! Live! Fight like hell
and when you get too tired to fight?
Then lay down and rest
and let somebody else fight for you!
I can’t do this ‘Don’t Give Up Thing’ all by myself. Nobody can.”
Stuart Scott
That quote says it all: It takes a team! Teams win!
You must fight together. You must pick up your teammates when they can no longer fight.
Lesson 6 - Anyone Can Win. You Aren’t an Underdog Just Because “They” Say You Are:
Ask Cole Hocker (1500M) or Santa Lucia Women’s 100M Gold Medal winner, Julien Alfred, or the 30 year old Swedish swimmer who told her coach she didn’t want to race the 100M freestyle race and then shocked everyone (including herself) to win the Gold. There were several more 1st time Olympic Gold medal winners. If you are in the arena competing and have a chance to win… you CAN WIN!
Lesson 7 - Celebrate the Wins!
And then quickly paddle back out hard for the next wave. When you’ve succeeded as a team or a company and hit 9.9 out of 10, smash that PR button and do the chest thumping interview… but then quickly get back to business!
Like nature, startup land is unpredictable. The perfect wave is out there but so is the massive wipeout. Don’t fight it. Don’t try to control it. Just surf it. Find the slot. Find your flow. Do your best. When you hit it near perfectly, celebrate it.
And when the below happens during your next startup downturn or wipeout… paddle back out… and try to catch the next wave.
Leadership is a roller coaster after all.
That’s it for this week. The top 7 lessons learned from the Olympics.
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