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What do Olympic rowing and #law have in common? A lot. Excellent #talentmanagement is to treat your team like #elite athletes. I have done work at @Aavagard and @Aavalynx to root leadership in #cognitivescience and the work of medical professionals who have guided world-class athletes to success – I’ve #TEDx talked on this. It was therefore hugely energising for me to meet Sir @Matt Pinsent, a four-time Olympic rowing gold medallist and the man with once the largest lung capacity recorded for a sportsman. His achievements obviously put my university rowing dabbles and beyond to shame. But I draw three practical take-aways in case helpful:

🥇 OLYMPIA, QUEEN OF TRUTH. These words are inscribed at the back of the Athens Olympic medal. A more practical translation: be fearlessly data-first. Every winning team needs a person who is passionate about what the numbers say about your performance; do not hide away from their raw reality. For Sir Matthew it was coach Jürgen Gröbler who obsessed about the finish times even at celebratory drinks. In my case: run a rigorous, independent audit of the savings AI can generate in dispute resolution. Don't kid yourself.

🥇 REJECTION IS BRUTAL. THAT'S OK. You train for 3.5 years knowing that you may not make the Olympic team. How to manage your mind game and give yourself the best shot without being held back by the fear of rejection? This is very familiar ground to me: disrupting means coming up against nay-sayers and being OK with rejection. You must really listen and learn from what you hear. And then one of two things happens. You either know you need to develop your offering. Or that you are having a conversation with the wrong minds and need to move on. Rejection is key because it helps you crystallise what jargon-people like to call the Go-To-Market-Strategy. Being all things to all people risks being nothing at all.

🥇 SPECIFIC ACTION CURES ABSTRACT FEAR. Amid the press frenzy, the pressure to perform can paralyse, particularly if you are defending gold rather than showing up as the underdog. Devise practical hacks that unlock your best performance on the start line. For Sir Matthew it was remembering to keep your thumbs loose so as not to lock your hands too tightly around the oars. For lawyers: advance hearing prep so that no sleep is lost the night before openings – sounds obvious but requires planning and discipline. #StayLooseStayRelaxed

Many thanks for the generous hosting to @Barclays with #JerseyBoatShow @Paul Savery   Dip IoD, ACIB @Simon Phillips @Rholo Mba @Steven Ruiz @Julien Lafargue, CFA @Marcus Nobes @Nicolle Maltwood and Binney & Boarder for the delicious sea food. @Jonathan Roos

Right, off to run to try to improve my VO2max score… 😂

About:

@Aavagard is an elite, AI-first law firm that resolves rather than prolongs disputes.

@Aavalynx is an AI-first case intelligence platform for in-house counsel and law firms to resolve disputes faster and more cheaply and without losing accuracy.