Go for gold

We were partners in a business conference today called Elevation held at New Century Hall in Manchester. One of the speakers was Sir Matthew Pinsent, the 4 times Olympic gold medal winning rower. What a great motivator and a speaker. The sheer physical regime he went through in order to win was enough to make your eyes water. He recounted how at the Athens Olympics in 2004 the unfancied British team came from nowhere to pip the Canadians at the very last 4 inches. As he looked over at his rivals he met the gaze of one of the Canadian team who he now knows well. At that exact moment they both thought exactly the same thing: "bloody hell he looks knackered, we're going to win".

His tips for successful teams:

1. Set goals
2. Excellent communications
3. division of responsibility
4. trust in team mates
5. hunger for success