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The Thinker and the Doer
That person must be hidden somewhere! “Who?”, you may ask. The great karate master, the one depicted in traditional, often childish, martial arts movies (long bearded, old & sage, introspect and humble, you know the kind). Well, he may also represent kung-fu, or any oriental style. The guy studying in detail every punch, every step, every kick. The methodist, the analyst, the engineer of fighting. The source of piles of books on techniques, hitting angles, and invariably mastering some esoteric energies able to destroy any enemy, even in Jedi style, from a considerable distance. Definitely, that person might exist somewhere. Unpolite and futile to think of his/her age, as this…
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Sport vs Business (5) – Winning
Winning is a core attribute of sports. It is encapsulated in its DNA. It motivates, it creates a purpose, it provides returns. But is winning-centricity the right philosophy in companies or societies? The concept of winning is quite challenged lately, by many theoreticians or specialists in various domains, from business to education. Is winning a chimera? Is it just a habit (eventually, a bad one?), something we might have learnt in childhood and now we realize there are no positive outcomes beyond it? Many people in sports would raise an eyebrow. Or both. However, talking about facts, let’s take a look into neuroscience. As no-one would dare to argue, in…
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Sport vs Business (4) – Lessons learnt from running marathons
Running a Marathon is often quoted as a major challenge a regular person of our times could face. I have been through inner debates myself, whether to dare it or not. Passed through and felt elated. Like many others before me. Like many more to come, enlarging this wonderful “army” of finishers. Every single person completing those 42.2km takes his/her own take-aways. However, by discussing over and over again about this provocation with lots of people, being involved in organizing sport events myself, I hereby wrap up a few learnings, which I find useful in business and life in general. As completing a Marathon is much more than achieving a…
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Sport vs Business (3) – 5 Learnings for entrepreneurs
Are you eager to start your own business? Have you already decided and you’ve taken your first steps towards fulfiling your dream of independence, money and control of your life? I wish you good luck! At the same time, we must both agree that the road ahead is not an easy one. I will try to draft a bit of guidance by replicating experiences sport performers faced in their early stages. It takes time to succeed. It goes without saying that reaching some goals may take time. The higher the goal, the longer the required time to get there (in most instances). I want to play tennis like Federer, dribble…
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Sport vs Business (2) – Time Out
We need to finish this by the end of the week! oh, gosh, on Friday we also have to start the X project as we have a tight deadline. And we received a new request, we have to send the proposal tomorrow. If we get it, we might have to start the project next week as well. And so on, we keep things rolling. We get the money coming and business is good! Or is it? Are we on the right track? Are others doing something different, coming up with new ideas to solve same problems? Are new problems emerging? New expectations on the client/customer side? These kind of questions…
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Sport vs Business (1): Do you trust your fluffy PT?
Quite a lot of people go to gyms. Many opt for having personal trainers to guide them through the maze of excercises and techniques. PTs are fit guys, men or women, aspirational for those they train. They convey trust through personal example, they impose expertise in what they teach. It’s the same with the ski instructor, with the tennis or football coaches, with the martial arts sensei…If I went to the gym and a round guy comes to me attepting to teach me what to do to lose weight, to improve my shapes, preaching how impotant being athletic is for the way we live and perceive ourselves, well… I would…