Scott Allison's Blog

My first blog post, and an unlikely subject for me as someone who really has very little interest in sport. However, I am obsessed about what makes a successful entrepreneur and what I learnt tonight from Sir Jackie Stewart crystallised something I had already worked out: the qualities which make someone excel in sport bring great success when applied in business.

Jackie is a world-wide motor sport legend, but has been incredibly successful in business too. Which was harder for Jackie? Sport – because, quite simply, if you’re not number one you’re a nobody. Your business can still be top 10 in the rankings and be a massive success, but unless you’re first in the world of sport you’re a failure.

Think of an average sportsman, think of all the preparation and practise he puts in before an event – the days of football players turning up before a match and having a quick stretch to prepare are long gone. But how many people in business do nothing more than a quick stretch to prepare for a big meeting?

To succeed in sport you have to focus then practise and prepare.

It’s the same in business. The most impressive candidates I have interviewed for jobs in the last year all had a professional sporting background and now it’s something I will actively look for. They understand focus, determination and (depending on the sport) team-work in spades.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 1:56 am and is filed under Business success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.