The Rio Games and the folly of aspiration

They didn't have protests and sewage on their minds, I'd imagine, when the team from Rio bid on the 2016 Olympics highlighting the city's celebration lifestyle.

Amid the much-delayed construction of the mega-facilities relished by the International Olympic Committee, the resident revellers have been suffering through political crisis, renowned crime and pollution. Perhaps now is not the time to focus on collecting sports diamonds when the relationship is on the rocks.

If not to improve the lives of its citizens in some meaningful way, then why host an Olympics? It's an announcement that this (city, country) has arrived. It's a powerful symbol and statement. It's pure aspiration. It's meant to be a shortcut to the kind of image that's often earned by decades of building and supporting local culture and business, backed by reasonable government. Hosting the Olympics is like papering over your problems with gold foil.

Of the last seven cities/countries to host an Olympiad, four are in or on the brink of economic crisis (Brazil, Russia, Italy and Greece (and arguably China)). Four have made the news for dysfunctional democracy (Brazil, Russia, Italy and Greece, with an honourable mention for Britain post-Brexit). Two are renowned for their poor human rights record (China and Russia). In case you think the Olympics have a lock on self-delusion, I present the trials and tribulations of Qatar's deadly World Cup buildup.

Not much to brag about. If there's a positive legacy beyond creating new habitats for weeds, it certainly hasn't been enough to change the hosts' courses.  Most have eaten as much criticism as praise internationally as a result of the games, so even the hoped-for pride and bluster fails to materialize. The host countries spent billions upon billions that could have changes everyday lives for the better. Of course, that's to be expected any time a city, country, organization or company tries to put image ahead of progress and purpose. Overspending for underwhelming results is indicative of a lack of alignment.

Alignment is the meeting of purpose and action, the uniting of an organization and its clients/stakeholders/publics to help improve lives. Creating that common basis for trust and action - shared values, goals and language - creates remarkable experiences.

Writers on purpose and alignment, such as Jim Stengel and Simon Sinek, often cite Apple as a marquee example of the power of alignment. The company invented and then reinvented a couple more times the way we interact with each other with their stated brand ideal, to empower creative exploration and self-expression. Per Sinek, Apple seeks to challenge the status quo. To do things differently. Apple built a distinctive culture delivering products built on a foundation of serving needs people hadn't envisioned.

Vancouver, site of the 2010 Olympics, was closest to spot on among the group of seven latest hosts. The city was already considered one of the best places in the world to live by the time the torch entered the refurbished BC Place stadium. The city picked the right time to host - it had solid infrastructure, a prosperous economy, steady culture and governments in a good place to support the effort. The games made money. The athletes village, built on a reclaimed industrial site, was covered to low-income housing. Many of the facilities already existed, or were repurposed into community facilities after the games. There was little daylight between Olympic aspiration and the city's true identity.

Hosting an Olympics is about aspiration - a lot of promises of relatively instant greatness. However, detached from the realities of its citizens, the games fail to inspire a change of culture or circumstances in their hosts. Paraphrasing Sinek in Start with Why, aspiration is no replacement for inspiration.

So if you aspire to greatness, focus first on inspiring your organization and its stakeholders with a clear purpose, a way of improving lives. As Olympic athletes know, inspired performance and disciplined training that come before the gold.