Harder Better Faster

Five Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Athletes

The best entrepreneurs and businessmen have become experts in the art of marketing, deal-making and product development. However, athletes have also become notable for understanding particular skill-sets and actions that better position them for success. Here are five lessons that entrepreneurs can learn from athletes.   

1. Compliment your competitors, while complimenting your own company even more

Consumers are constantly overwhelmed by companies’ advertisements that state how bad their competitors’ products are, or why you should never buy any product except their own. Don’t insult your competitors; talk more about the strengths and advantages of your product instead of the weaknesses of your competition. Anytime you hear a superstar athlete being interviewed after winning a big game or championship, you will most likely hear them say about how great their competitors played and how talented the other team is. Subsequently, you will then hear how much harder the athlete and their team fought and how dedicated they were to winning. Try this tactic when discussing the competitive landscape between you and your closest industry colleagues.

2. View every interaction with customers and media as a potential image maker or breaker.

Lights, camera, action means it’s time to show your best side. Whether it is an email interview with a small blogger or if it is an in-person interview with a writer from CNN, treat every media interaction the same. Value the smallest fish just as much as you value the big guys. It makes a world of difference. Michael Jordan worked hard at presenting a consistent image to the media regardless of what network or media it was for. The same rule applies to your customers. Treat every customer interaction as an opportunity to make a better impression. Whether it is the smallest support question that a customer may contact you about, understand that each interaction defines how the customer views you. Just as the smart athletes strive to sign as many autographs and take as many pictures as possible, you should do the same. One negative experience can cause a ripple effect of negative reviews, and subsequently, one great interaction can lead to the next big business development deal that you have been looking for.

sabrinabeans: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Days 12 & 13

Somehow I let my brain be sucked down into eat eat eat mode, and I couldn't get out. And then I basically gave up for the weekend. I can't tell you how many times the phrase "I need a Monday" went through my head! Mondays are a reset button, a way to put my brain back in its proper place, and I just wasn't going to get there on Saturday or Sunday. In retrospect, I see a re-feed pattern here: about every 3-4 weeks I break down, fall apart, call it what you will, and I have a binge meal or day or weekend. It's time to schedule such splurges in advance so I don't spend 3 days hating myself for "failing" when half of it is biological need , not willpower failing. My exact strategy for that is still TBD. 8 hours in bed. Woke h/s/g, bathroom, didn’t sleep well at ALL. Slept in a wee bit, up at 630. 5 chins w/ zero movement. (Forgot set 2.) Ate a good breakfast…then more cereal. Fuck. CPR class all day, was fine. Trip to Scheel’s; found Fruition (carb, not protein) bars that don’t have any junk. Yay! At Target, bought some pita chips for Afton. Which I ate a bag of on the way home along with a bottle of pop. WTF? At home, made venison burgers, stir fry; then just plain ate too much again. Couldn’t get full, basically, just wanted to eat my own hands right off! Food details: 630a-fried egg, sl bacon, 2sl side pork, 3/4c Honey Nut Cheerios, 1/3c rice milk, c decaf, D, FS, zinc, MA, fish oil; 8a-1.5c reg; 9a-6 almonds; 1045a-18 almonds, banana; 1245p-stir fry, raw veg, c grapes, 2oz teriyaki jerky; 320p-sm apple, oz jerky; 5p-bottle Diet Dr Pepper, oz pita chips; 630p-giant salad w/ grapes & balsamic, venison burger, 2 fried eggs; 8p-crepe, 20-cal cocoa, FS, magnesium, MA, BSM, fish oil 7.5 hours in bed. Tired. Scarfed down egg bake and went back to bed for half hour. When alarm went off, checked weather to make sure it didn’t matter, and went back to bed for another hour. Got ready to run 20 miles, kind of dreading it - HIGHLY unusual for me. I just didn’t really want to do it, mental state was poor; on a short run I’d have backed out but I need the long run miles so I tried it. Decided to start at Heather’s so first leg was into the wind. First two miles felt so effing hard, way more than usual. Runner’s high finally hit around 3.5m. At home, ate more than planned snack, including a motherfucking M&M cookie. Headed out walking the first .4m, ran a mile, walked .15, ran some, walked some.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

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