London 2012 Olympic Games Lesson for Entrepreneurs

As I was completing the edit of my soon to be published business development books last night, I took a break to watch the news. CNN World Sport was on at the time.

At the end of the program, CNN correspondences who covered the London 2012 Olympic Games were asked to share their most memorable moments of the games.
For most of the British correspondence, their most memorable moments was Mo Farah winning gold in the 5000m or Bradley Wiggins winning gold or the overall performance of Team GB that saw them produce their best Olympic result in decades.

What was your Olympic moment? Care to share?
Everyone have their own Olympic memorable moments. For me it was Usain Bolt of Jamaica winning his triple double gold medals.

Gee I almost forgot!
One of the greatest moments of the London 2012 Olympic was when Nigerian rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka triumphantly crossed the finishing line. Even though he finished last, his was the triumph of the human spirit.

As entrepreneurs, what lesson can we learn from the Olympians? I personally have a lot of respect for the Olympians because it takes tremendous discipline and will power to be an Olympian.

There are two lessons to be learnt:
• One: preparation pays off
• The ability to market or brand oneself

Usain Bolt won in 9.63sec. But how long did it take him to prepare for just those few seconds? Try four years. As entrepreneurs, the majority of us fail to take the time to prepare because we feel it is too time consuming. Remember if you fail to prepare, you are prepared to fail.

The second important lesson is marketing. Who was London 20120 Olympic Games about? A single person: Usain Bolt.
For most Americans the London 2012 Olympics was about Michael Phelps or Gabby Douglas. For the Brits it was about the performance of Team GB and for the Aussies it was about the miserable performance of their athletes.

But while the Americans might know Michael Phelps or Gabby Douglas, or the Brits might know Mo Farah or Bradley Wiggins, hardly anyone else in the world might know them.

Michael Phelps could walk on the High Street on a busy Saturday in London, hardly anyone would recognise him. But not Usain Bolt. If he landed in Bangladesh or Nigeria, he could turn the entire city upside down. Even before the Olympics, he was already on billboards in the UK.

Can you imagine Michael Phelps on billboards in the UK or any European country?
That is the power of marketing. So as you go back to your businesses, the question that I want you to be asking yourself is: how can you use the Usain Bolt marketing strategy in your business. Trust me it is very effective.

Ha! One last thing I almost forgot again. In the same CNN program a British athlete was asked if she had received a call from British Prime Minister David Cameron, she replied not yet. The reporter remarked that American athletes receive calls from President Obama.
She responded that she was going to have a word. Well I am having a word on their behalf that Prime Minister David Cameron at least makes the call. She is looking forward to it.

   

Reference :Romeo_Cliff_Richards