Written by: Pieter van den Berg
Last time we wrote about corporate success. Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, had reported on research on why some companies are so successful and why others are much less so.
Some characteristics of success included the type of leadership, where the leader grants others in his organization successes (“level five leadership”) and the use of technology, not for its own sake, but deployed to improve performance for customers.
A link to elite sports is quickly made. We thoroughly enjoyed the successes of the Dutch top athletes during the (para-)Olympic Games in Paris last summer. Many parallels to entrepreneurial success can be drawn and metaphors described.
For example, everyone still has on their minds the final sprint of Femke Bol from the mixed relay team in the four times four hundred meters. How fast she went! As if other athletes were standing still. During the interview after a floop she declared that not she, but the total team had ensured the victory. This is a great example of the aforementioned level five leadership.
Both the women’s and men’s hockey teams were also able to take home gold medals. I was reminded of former national field hockey coach Marc Lammers, who, years ago, was already innovating by using detailed data analysis in his coaching and strategy. For that time, a huge innovation. Partly because of that, his team achieved gold at the Olympics.
The above successes only work when the teams exercise extreme discipline in preparation and training to achieve the ultimate goal. The team members also go to extremes for each other and grant each other success. Wonderful!
The parallels to entrepreneurship are easy to draw. You can apply them for your own situation. A final addition: successful and fast-growing companies are integrating an active acquisition strategy into their entrepreneurial policies. The annual Global M&A report by Bain Management Consultants shows that companies with an active acquisition strategy generate higher shareholder value. We also see this happening in our own practice. Well, something to think about. That really becomes top sport!
This article was originally published in INTO Business magazine Haarlemmermeer-Schiphol of October 2024.