Keep Playing

This episode is about the 1982 Football World Cup match between Brazil and Italy.

On July 5th in Barcelona, Italy defeated Brazil 3-2 in the second group stage, eliminating Brazil from the tournament. Italy went on to win the World Cup final against West Germany.

The match offers valuable learnings for business professionals, including the importance of teamwork, emotional resilience, sportsmanship, seizing opportunities, adapting to changing circumstances, attention to detail and preparation.

Besides, it was one hell of a fantastic football match.

This episode of ‘Keep Playing’ is quite different form the previous episodes.

Today, I will not discuss any specific sports achievements or athletes. Instead, I will share why I chose Sports as the field in the first place. Why Sports as a source of inspiration for business professionals? Why not for instance Art or Music?

Well, you will find out why if you listen to this episode. I will also discuss why I think certainly Sports has something interesting to teach the world of business.

This episode is about the US ice hockey team winning against the mighty Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York in 1980. The match was called ‘The Miracle on Ice’, because a young inexperienced US team managed to win against the 5-times Winter Olympics gold winners.

From a business perspective I discuss that past successes do not guarantee future wins. Sometimes, the new kid on the block wins. The new kid doesn’t care – perhaps he doesn’t even know - about all the incumbent’s past successes. He just wants to play. To enjoy the game. And to do his best.

You can come a long way with willpower and excitement. As an experienced business executive never forget your roots, and that once you were the new kid yourself. And how your attitude back then helped you excel.

This episode is about baseball. More specifically about the Portland Mavericks during just five seasons from 1973-1977.

Actually, this episode is not so much about baseball itself, but more about having fun and doing things in unconventional ways. It just happens to be about having fun playing baseball.

There are some important and interesting learnings in the Mavericks story for businesspeople. I will talk about having an open mind, taking chances and enjoying the process as much as the end result. Whether the game is baseball or a business challenge.

I hope you will listen to this episode 15 ‘The Underdogs’.

This episode is about letting your actions do the talking. You will hear about professional bicycle rider Jonas Vingegaard who just last month won this year’s Tour de France – probably the world’s toughest bicycle race.

I will be talking about Jonas Vingegaard to illustrate that if companies want to experience long term success, they need to consistently deliver outstanding results and value instead of making lofty and often empty promises here and now. Be genuine, and humble, rather than acting the aggressive Alpha male.

I have called this episode ‘Let your actions speak’.

This episode is about football again. This time about the 2002 World Cup – where South Korea beat the favorites Italy in the eighth finals – much to everybody’s surprise.

I have called this episode for ‘Complacency’. Italy thought this match would be a walk over, and they were already looking forward to playing the quarter finals.

Well, they didn’t. South Korea did. They won against the Italian team which never took them seriously. So Italy lost – and deservedly so.

For all you businesspeople listening to my podcast: The learning here is never become complacent. This is a sure path to losing.

This episode is about football again. This time about Sunderland AFC – a proud football club which in just one year was relegated twice. From Premier League to League One (which is just a euphemism for third tier).

I will discuss ‘Leadership resilience’ in times of extreme difficulties. Specifically, I will share with you my enormous respect for then CEO Martin Bain – who despite seeing his club lose again and again in the 2016/17 season - kept his spirits high. Martin Bain never gave up, always trying to find new answers and at the same time instill new energy in both players and staff.

I think business leaders can learn a lot from this. As long as you hold the baton, you do not let go.

Apparently, Andre Agassi never really liked playing tennis.

But still, he kept on playing. He did the job. Ball after ball, day after day, year after year. He knew nothing else, and one day his hard work led to his first Grand Slam win (1992 Wimbledon). Though the 1990s he competed with Pete Sampras for the no 1 position on the global tennis ranking.

What businesspeople can learn from Andre Agassi is the art of perseverance. In this episode which I have called 'It is all about math' I will tell you why.

In this episode I will discuss English Premier football club Arsenal F.C. and its 2003/4 season – a season where Arsenal F.C. didn’t lose a single match. Unheard of. And never seen again. No wonder why the club was nicknamed ‘The Invincibles’.

But what happens when the spell is broken? What happens when a business after success upon success faces mistakes, lost games and failure? How to then to take the business forward? The business being a football club or any other company in in any other industry. What can we learn from ‘The Invincibles’?

The importance of team work:
Six rowing boats competing to win gold in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. All boats and their ores are identical, and the rowers in all boats weigh almost the same. So, what does it take for the winning team to win?

This is the story of the most winning Danish male rowing team called ‘The Golden Four’. How did they win in Atlanta on that July day in 1996? And what can businesspeople learn from this?