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Chairman's Blog - w/c 13 August 2012

It’s all about the winning combination

For some odd reason the subject of winning has come to mind this week.  Of course this could be construed as a cunning plug for the Eventia Awards, the deadline for which has been extended to allow people up to their eyeballs in Olympic activity the chance to gather their breath and get that entry in.  Now.  Please.

But I’m not prepared to stoop so low and simply do what the team in the office tell me, so I’m not going to mention the fabulous Eventia awards (deadline extended to 15^th August!!) again in this paragraph.  No sir.  I’m my own man after all.  Yet the deluge of winners that have stood on Olympic podiums in various states of emotional turmoil over the last couple of weeks has been both awe inspiring and frequently very, very moving. 

We’ll have our favourites of course – perhaps the 400m hero Sanchez who simply blubbed like a baby, the amazing GB show jumping team that finally took gold or that look of surprise on the face of Greg Rutherford, having nailed a long jump gold after a 48 year gap since the last British athlete leapt into first place.  His motivation – time to get some colour footage of someone British winning the long jump.  Good job Greg.

From Super Saturday to even more super Sunday, not to mention terrific Tuesday when the two Brownlee brothers took on the world’s best tri-athletes, we then descended with a slight bump into woeful Wednesday when we didn’t get any more medals.  What? Disaster!  But that slight hiatus was only a temporary setback and got me thinking – what can we learn from the Games that will sustain, that will help us win through the very tough times that lie ahead?

There are of course many lessons to be learnt from the disciplines involved in creating high performance sports stars.  Much depends on the character of the individuals – their willingness to make huge sacrifices for their sport, to put the hours in, stick to their training regimes, work hard and the hunger for success, the will to win.  So it was great to hear the wonderful frankness of the GB high jumper Robbie Grabarz.  Talking about his joint bronze medal win, he revealed how close he’d been to walking away from the sport - his Lottery funding withdrawn, no motivation, game over.  His coach Fuzz Ahmed (BTW I’m not making that up) sat him down and told him straight – my way or the highway and don’t waste my time either.  End result – unbelievable.

So success depends on application, but also the intervention of experts, people that can adjust thinking, improve performance and make things happen.  Across so many different sports both winners and losers have frequently paid tribute to their extended team – not just the coaches, but the nutritionists, the physios, sports therapists and technical staff.  What does that kind of extended team remind me of?  It reminds me of the kind of expert teams we all put together to deliver great events and meetings.   Our industry thrives on combining expertise and experience to create fantastic, winning outcomes for our clients.  Are you ready to be a winner?

This is where awards come in.  Performance improvement is based on analysis and review, on comparing ourselves with our competition, understanding their strengths and weaknesses and then learning from that process.  This is why the Eventia Awards are such an integral part of our offer to the broader industry.  You want to be part of that winning way?  Then get your entry in now.  

Simon Hughes
Eventia Chairman