Posted on Fri, Mar 12, 2010
There are some things in life you must experience if given the opportunity...and last week, that opportunity was an invitation to attend the 2010 Winter Olympics. The province of British Columbia, often recognized as one of the most beautiful places in the world, laid out the red carpet & welcomed fans, families, and 5,000 athletes from more than 80 countries across the globe. Admittedly, it didn't start out well but as the Games went along, Vancouver - and Canada - didn't disappoint.
One aspect of sport that I find truly amazing is the athletes' incredible ability to focus...or get in ‘the zone'. The pure dominance of Wang Meng (China, Short Track Speed Skating) & Sean White (USA, Snowboard Halfpipe). Lindsey Vonn (USA, Downhill Skiing), still nursing injuries from a crash earlier in the year, blocked out the pain & put together an amazing run to win the gold medal in the Women's Downhill. Joannie Rochette (Canada, Figure Skating), whose mother passed away two days before her competition, was somehow able to manage her emotions and finished with a bronze medal. 37-year old Clara Hughes (Canada, Speed Skating) winning medals in both the Summer Olympics and the Winter and Petra Majdic (Slovenia) winning a bronze medal while competing with four broken ribs & a collapsed lung!
The list of great athletes is extensive but the trait is the same...amazing focus during a heightened level of chaos. As one of our clients noted during Clara Hughes' performance: if you're not in the zone, it's guaranteed to be a train wreck!
I believe there is an undeniable parallel between business and sport, beginning with the acceptance that there is comfort in chaos! Chaos requires you to act & adapt quickly, and the companies that exploit chaos to accelerate change will win more often than companies comfortable with the status quo. This brings us to the ‘new' industry of Managed Print Services. Yes, some of us have been providing this service for the past 15-odd years. However the drastic reduction in copier hardware sales has resulted in many of these copier companies attempting to rebuild their companies as MPS companies. Unfortunately, as we have seen with so many athletes, only the totally committed will be successful. Does anyone remember ‘Eddie the Eagle' from the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics? Just because you say you're a ski jumper doesn't mean you ARE a ski jumper.
At least he landed safely. The same couldn't be said for the Jamaican Bobsled Team.
To be the best of the best (gold medal winner) in the heart of chaos takes total focus and total commitment. A bit of lipstick isn't enough...and that's why we're starting to hear these copier companies saying MPS wasn't for them. There were only 86 gold medals handed out...or roughly 1.7% of the athletes. It isn't easy...and may even take some luck! However, given the chaos that was 2009, and the shift of the industry toward the distributed print model, it will be interesting to see the next generation of great companies emerging by the time the 2014 Olympics kick-off in Russia. It will also be interesting to see the ones that don't make it that far. Many will get swallowed up while others will simply disappear...think Smith Corona and Circuit City.
Until then, congratulations to the athletes, Vancouver, & Canada for hosting such a great event. It has absolutely reinforced our quest to be one of the top 1.7% of all companies!
As a final note, here's an amazing recap of the Olympics, from Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail. He's much better at summing up the experience of being in Vancouver & in Canada during these Olympic Games.